


Despair's Last Resort

by ParadoxProphet



Series: Despair's Last Resort: The Misfortunes Of The 79th Class [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dangan Ronpa & Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa Zero Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode Spoilers, Fan Dangan Ronpa, Fangan Ronpa, Gen, Mentions of canon characters - Freeform, Original Character Death(s), Spoilers, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, The spoilers aren't until much later though so don't worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-26 09:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 61
Words: 222,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1682828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadoxProphet/pseuds/ParadoxProphet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takara Tsukuda has been chosen to attend Hope's Peak Academy as the Super High School Level Journalist, and she couldn't be happier about it. Only the most talented youth were accepted after all. But things don't turn out as planned when she and fifteen other students fall unconscious and find themselves in some strange resort. They are told that the school has sent them all on a special vacation, and despite a few oddities it seems that's all this is. But then a black and white bear shows up and tells them that they're not allowed to leave. Now they're all stuck in a game of this bear's own design: either live in peace in this resort for the rest of their lives, or murder a fellow classmate and fool everyone else to escape. When she doesn't know who could be tempted to kill, Takara has to figure out the truth about why they were forced into this game, or die trying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - A Stay For Sixteen I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going to connect to the canon of Dangan Ronpa, hence the spoiler warnings. These will not come until much later in the story, so right now it's just trouble in paradise with sixteen kids caught in the middle. I'm in the process of drawing all the characters, but I don't have the ability to make sprite edits for each of them and I'm too nervous to find someone who would be willing to do it for me. So I'm afraid you'll just have to leave things up to imagination.

Hope's Peak Academy, the most prestigious school in all of Japan. Only a select few were invited to attend, for there are no entrance exams. It is a school that, should one accept their invitation, allowed a person great success in life. Getting into a university would be no problem, and finding a career would be simple. The school was a source of hope for the country, and any high school student would dream of being allowed to attend. And as fortune would have it, that dream was coming true for one girl.

Standing outside of the gates was Takara Tsukuda. In her hand she held the letter she received just two weeks ago. The letter stating that she had been invited with the title of Super High School Level Journalist, a talent she definitely believed she deserved.

She had dedicated herself to finding out the truth and only the truth, which she would then write articles about. Her dedication to researching the facts made what she wrote all the more interesting. She tore down countless rumors and debunked many scandals with just pen and paper. She had written for newspapers, magazines, news websites, even television reports. There just wasn't any other way to describe it, Takara was passionate when it came to journalism. And it all turned out to be worth it, now that she was standing here. She always wanted Hope's Peak to recognize her for her skills, and now she could find out the secrets behind the school's walls. She had even prepared herself for what would come by compiling facts and information on all of her soon-to-be classmates. There was no doubt that she would be set for the rest of her high school years.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. While she was excited, she didn't want to leave any bad impressions due to her joy. Without any more hesitation, she walked towards the gates. "Look out Hope's Peak Academy," she shouted to no one. "because Takara Tsukuda is-"

As she walked through the gates, she began to feel light headed. The whole world seemed to be spinning in front of her eyes. She couldn't even find the strength to stand up anymore. As her vision became blurry, she fell to the ground and lost consciousness. This was definitely not going to be your average school year.

\---------------------------------------

"..."

"...y"

"Ca.....ear me?"

"...ake up."

"Please, you need to wake up."

Takara heard a voice she didn't recognize as she felt her strength return. Did someone find her lying in front of the school building? She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself face to face with two unfamiliar people looking down at her. A bright light was shining in her eyes, leaving her unable to discern who they were. All she could tell was that one was a boy and the other was a girl. Her head still ached as she tried to stand up. The boy seemed to be worried, as he took hold of her arm to help her up. "Woah there, take it easy." he said with concern. "You've been out for quite some time now, you shouldn't be moving too fast. Just take it slow for a moment."

"Um, sure. I got it." Takara said, her thoughts still jumbled. She tried to process the appearance of the boy assisting her. He wore what looked like a white lab coat, though she couldn't make out what he was wearing underneath it. She decided that it wouldn't be best to stand up just yet and just sat up. She needed to get her thoughts together.

"We were worried that you weren't going to wake up." The girl said, messing with her braided hair. "The rest of us woke up at once, but you just wouldn't budge."

"...The rest of you?" Takara asked.

"She's talking about everyone else in the room. Hold on, let me go tell them that you're awake." The boy answered. He stood up and called out to someone she couldn't see. "You guys, she woke up!"

The girl with the glasses helped Takara stand upright, allowing her to see just who else was there. A whole group of teenagers, around her age from the looks of it, were now staring at her. Some were shocked, while others looked relieved. Takara looked around and noticed that they weren't outside the building anymore. They were all standing in some large room filled with small tables and chairs. It almost looked like a conference room, but what would something like that be doing at Hope's Peak? "Does anyone know where we are?" she asked.

"No, we all just found ourselves here!" A girl wearing some kind of sports uniform answered. "Apparently we all fainted outside of the school building and woke up here!"

"Why would anyone take us in the first place though?" A nervous looking boy asked, his eyes constantly darting around the room.

"Ooooooooo!!! Maybe it's some kind of surprise party!" Another girl said as she jumped up and down. "I love surprises!"

"Somehow I don't think we're here for a surprise party." An aloof boy replied. "There's not even a cake or anything."

"Maybe it's just some kind of prank the school's pulling on us." Another boy said, trying to make light of the situation. "You know, something they pull on the freshmen to psyche them out."

"Dat better be all dis is!" A tall girl exclaimed. "'Cause if it ain't, den someone's gonna meet my fists!"

"Maybe that will tell us something?" A girl with a scarf asked, pointing at a piece of paper that rested on top of a table. How did no one notice it until now? Takara didn't have time to figure that out right now, she needed to know what was going on. She picked up the paper and unfolded it, revealing a letter.

"Well, what does it say?" A boy asked, getting quite irritated. "There's no need to keep it's contents to yourself."

Takara resisted the urge to give him a dirty look as she read the letter out loud.

"Greetings new students of Hope's Peak Academy. I apologize for the sudden relocation, as you're probably all confused. But do not be alarmed, this is merely a gift from the school. You all probably spent the remainder of your summer vacation preparing yourselves for your new school year. And I would hate to have been the cause for you to miss out on a chunk of your break. Therefore, the school has arranged this all expenses paid trip for you. You will be spending the next two weeks in this amazing mountainside resort. This shall allow you to have a proper end to your summer vacation and letting you become closer to your fellow students. All your bags have already been brought here, and they currently sit outside of your rooms along with your room keys. There will be a faculty member arriving shortly to keep an eye on you, we're not about to let you all run around unsupervised after all. Your families have all been informed of this, so there's no need to worry. So just relax and enjoy yourselves. And don't worry, you won't be missing out on anything at the school while this is happening. Your school year will officially begin once the two weeks are up. Have fun, Headmaster Jin Kirigiri."

No one spoke, they were all trying to take in everything they had just heard.

"Wait, they're really giving us an extended vacation?" A boy finally asked. "Are schools even allowed to do that?"

"It would appear that they can." A short girl answered. "Otherwise they would not have sent us here in the first place. Hope's Peak Academy is not any ordinary school after all, so they must have the ability to send us here."

"Still though, doesn't this all seem, I don't know, odd?" Another boy asked. "This all seems pretty sudden, just sending us here with no warning. Where are we anyway? All they said was a mountainside resort."

"Well in that case we should go explore, explore, explore!!!" The hyperactive girl said, making a straight rush to the door. Well she was just a ball of energy.

"We should take a better look at just where we are." The irritated boy from before said. "We should all meet back up in here once we're finished. And someone should tell her that once someone finds her." Although a few of the students wanted to question why he was making the shots, most of the students began walking towards the door as well. Takara could pick up comments from them. Some wanted to find their rooms while others wanted to look around the surrounding area before the chaperone showed up. Aside from herself, only a few other people remained in the room. Since she was still here, she decided it was best to talk to them and introduce herself.

She first noticed the boy who was helping her earlier. Since her vision was clearing up, she could see his appearance perfectly. Just as she suspected, he was wearing a kind of lab coat over a school uniform. His hair was tied back in a neat looking ponytail. He looked like a doctor despite the fact he was young. He turned to look at her and smiled. "I see you're looking better." he said.

"Yeah, I guess I just needed a minute so my head could stop spinning." Takara said.

"Maybe you should sit down for a moment then." The boy said. "If your head's spinning, staying still is probably best until you feel completely well."

"I think I'll be fine, it's not that bad." Takara said, feeling the dizziness vanishing. "I'm not usually the fastest person to recover, but I think I can move."

"Oh, okay then, if you say so." The boy answered in a low voice. He sounded disappointed, but it didn't look like he was going to fight back. He wasn't going to make any objections? What was he, some kind of pushover? "I'm just glad you're doing alright now. If you hadn't woken up, who knows what we would've done. I certainly don't have the medical knowledge to deal with comas, and I have a feeling that no one else here does. I don't think we've introduced ourselves, have we?"

"Nope, that's why I came over." Takara admitted.

"Then I guess we should take care of that, don't you think?" The boy responded with a laugh. "I'm known as Minoru Yoshihara, also known as the Super High School Level Veterinarian."

This was where Takara's research came in handy, otherwise she wouldn't have known anything about him. Minoru was a master when it came to healing animals. Even though his family only ran a small animal clinic, his ability to treat and cure sick pets quickly gave it a big name. No one knew just how he managed to do it, though there were rumors that it was because he had a psychic connection with animals. She recalled reading somewhere that he was a vegetarian, but couldn't remember if that was a rumor or not.

"It seems like everyone isn't all that worried about being brought here, huh?" Takara said, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"No, I suppose they're not. You'd think the school would tell us about this kind of thing, wouldn't you?" Minoru sighed. "If you ask me, it's rather strange that they took us here without warning. Do they always do this?"

"I can't say for sure." Takara said with a shrug. "Though I can't say that they should knock us out like that. That just seems like overkill."

"Maybe they did it to keep things a secret?" Minoru suggested. "I doubt it's the most efficient way of keeping the surprise, but there has to be a method to the madness, right?"

"Maybe. The only way to know for sure is when our chaperone gets here." Takara said. "Surely they can answer our questions."

"I sure hope so." Minoru said. He looked away from Takara, something behind her catching his attention.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

"That girl over there, she hasn't said much at all." Minoru said. Takara turned around to see that yes, there was a girl standing by the wall. Strange, how come she hadn't noticed them sooner? The girl in question didn't seem all that peculiar. In fact, she looked pretty ordinary. She had black wavy hair that went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a black pullover hoodie, a dark purple skirt, and purple and black striped stockings. Nothing that seemed to stand out all that much. Not even her expression told the journalist much about her. She looked pretty aloof.

"Maybe I should try to find out what's up with her." Takara said.

"Good luck with that." Minoru said. "While you were knocked out, everyone was talking to each other and introducing themselves. Yet no one could get much out of her. We all tried our best and couldn't even get out a name or talent."

"Did you try hard enough?" Takara asked with a raise of the eyebrow.

"Well...I guess not." Minoru admitted, looking down at his shoes. "I tried to say 'hi' and left her alone when she didn't say anything."

"You're a pushover, aren't you?" Takara said, voicing her thoughts.

Minoru nearly jumped back. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"Sorry, but it kinda is." Takara answered, trying not to laugh a little.

"I knew it, I'm an open book!" Minoru said. It looked like he was about to cry. "I've always been so easy to read! I was hoping that would change if I came here."

"I'm sure you'll get better in time, and grow a backbone while you're at it." Takara said with a smirk. "Well I'm still going to try talking to her. If there's one thing you can say about me, it's that I'm determined."

"I think you mean 'stubborn'." Minoru said. Takara gave him a strange look, causing him to flinch. "Woah, no need to glare like that! It was only a joke! I'll see you later, Takara!" He walked out of the room, probably to join in with the others in the exploration. Or maybe it was to get away from her gaze, she wasn't sure. Either way, that left left the journalist to approach the quiet girl.

"Hey there, nice to meet you!" Takara said, trying to get the girl to respond. Yet she received no reaction. That wasn't enough to make her give up though. "I'm Takara Tsukuda, Super High School Level Journalist! And you are?" Still no response. What was with this girl? "Hey, can you hear me? I'm trying to say hello to you." The girl blinked as she moved a strand of hair out of her face.

"Oh. Sorry." she said in a monotone voice. "I'm Miyako Morino."

Miyako Morino? That name didn't ring any bells. Takara tried to think about what her talent was, but nothing came to her. "So, what's your talent?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound like an idiot.

"...Super High School Level Good Luck." Miyako replied.

Ah, that explained it. Takara remembered reading that every year, Hope's Peak Academy held a randomized lottery with the name of every high school student in the country. If a person's name was drawn through that lottery, then they would be admitted into the school with the title of Super High School Level Good Luck. Even though she found it ridiculous, Takara had to admit that to have your name chosen from among thousands of other students, you would have to be pretty lucky. Even though she was pretty sure that good luck wasn't a talent, and she had found some pretty strange titles other Hope's Peak students had been given. To her knowledge, it was the only way an average student even had the chance of making it into the school. She would have thought that the one who was picked would at least be more...emotional.

"So, what do you think about all this?" Takara asked. There had to be a way to get some emotion out of her. "This whole resort situation seems pretty crazy, huh?"

Miyako stood in thought for a moment before saying. "I guess." Wow, she was certainly talkative. "Sorry. I'm not much of a conversation person. You should go look around."

"Are you sure? I mean, there's got to be something you want to talk about." Takara insisted. She wasn't about to give up easily.

"No. You should look around before the chaperone gets here. Good bye." As soon as she finished talking, Miyako immediately headed for the door. She really didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Wow, talk about being rude." Takara said. Though Miyako did have a point. There was no use standing around here all day. Everyone else had already left by this point, either to find their rooms or go see what they could find around the resort.

Takara decided that she should do so as well, she did want to make sure all her things were there like the letter said. But before she could leave, she found herself stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "You feeling alright to go off by yourself?" A male voice asked. Takara turned around to see the relaxed boy from before standing beside her, she didn't even know he was still here. The boy had tanned skin, most likely from being in the sun all day, and messy hair that she almost mistook for being blonde. He wasn't wearing anything special, just a plain t-shirt and jeans with a vest. Hanging around his neck were a set of goggles. "I'm just asking since you've been out cold for so long and all."

"Oh, no, I should be fine for now." Takara said. While it was true that she didn't need any help, she also didn't want someone following her around. Especially some guy she had never met before. "But thanks for the offer, um..."

"Oh, right, how foolish of me! I forgot to introduce myself! What poor manners I have!" The boy said, realizing that Takara was trying to figure out what to call him. "My name is Satoshi Teruya. I'm the Super High School Level Archaeologist."

That explained a lot. Takara didn't need to do much research when it came to him, as he was almost always talked about on the news and online. Satoshi Teruya was a major factor in scientific and historical finds in the past few years. He had found fossils and ancient artwork that shook the world by storm. No one knew how he did it, but he had a knack for finding buried relics. "That explains the tan skin." she said, trying to make a joke.

"Hehe, yeah, I've spent so much time excavating that I got a tan." Satoshi explained. "Though people keep thinking I'm not Japanese because of it. I don't know why though, my name is clearly Japanese."

"It's a mystery I suppose." Takara said.

"Well what about you, what's your name?" Satoshi asked.

"Oh right. I'm Takara Tsukuda." she said with a smirk.

Satoshi's eyes seemed to sparkle. "You mean you're _the_ Takara Tsukuda? The journalist who's wrote countless articles and is a legend in the reporting world? You're actually her?" he asked, unable to contain his excitement. Takara just nodded her head. And here she thought her excitement would weird people out. "This is amazing! I'm such a fan of your work! Oh, I've always wanted to meet you! And here we are in the same class! This is amazing!"

"Yes, yes, it's wonderful." Takara said, trying not to sound rude. "Well, it was nice meeting you Satoshi, but I really must be going. I have things to unpack and all that."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry to have kept you!" Satoshi said. "Maybe we can talk later then?"

"Yeah, sure! Of course!" Takara said, eager to leave. "Well, um, bye!" With that, she tried to get out of the door as fast as possible.

"See you later, Kara-chan!" Satoshi yelled out to her as she walked away. Takara froze for a moment, unwilling to believe what she just heard.

"Did he just call me...Kara-chan?" she asked herself in a whisper. Without wanting to dwell too much on it at the moment, she walked away.

She found herself in what appeared to be the hotel lobby. Near the entrance was the front desk, which was strangely unoccupied. Shouldn't there have been someone working? The lobby itself was also quite spacious. She found signs pointing to different locations in the building. There was a restaurant, a pool, a recreational room (which appeared to be where she had just came from), and that was just on the first floor! She began to wonder what kind of place they had all found themselves in. Takara searched for hallways leading to the hotel rooms, but the only ones she found were all blocked off by warning tape. "Are you serious? Are they under repairs or something?" she asked herself.

"I'm not sure, but for one reason or another they want to keep us out of these halls. And that's not all, the pool locker rooms and the lounge appear to be blocked off as well." A voice from behind startled her enough to almost make her jump. She quickly turned around to find another boy standing behind her. His appearance was a drastic difference from Satoshi and Minoru, it was almost unreal. Though it was mostly the bright blue hair that stuck out and shocked her. Blue and black seemed to be what he was going for, as all of his clothes used only those colors. He was wearing a black waistcoat over a blue dress shirt, yet for some reason he had a black jacket tied around his waist. His dark blue pants were almost undistinguished from the black boots he was wearing. If not for the jacket around his waist, Takara would have assumed he was going to a fancy dinner party instead of a school. The boy pushed his glasses closer to his face, getting a closer look at Takara. "Ah, you're the girl who was still unconscious earlier. We all managed to introduce ourselves earlier, but you were left out of the loop."

"You don't need to talk down to me like I'm a child." Takara said, getting irritated with this guy and his condescending tone.

"I didn't mean to, I was only trying to help." The boy responded. "Anyway, I'm known as Arata Miyazaki."

Ah yes, the Super High School Level Designer. That explained the strange outfit. Arata Miyazaki had taken the world of Japanese fashion by surprise a few years ago. Although he was young, he had a knack for making the trendiest clothes in the country. There were people who would kill to have just one article of his clothing. They costed thousands of yen, but they were worth it. Anyone who was anyone wore his clothes, there were even rumors that Junko Enoshima wore pieces from his line. There was just no denying it, Arata was a starter of fashion trends, and even improved existing ones. The only problem was that he sometimes had an inflated ego.

"It's nice to meet you, Arata." Takara began. "I'm Takara Tsukuda." She began to prepare herself in case there was another similar case to Satoshi, but he didn't seem to react. Instead, he just stared down at her in a judging manner. The silence was kind of disturbing.

"Oh no, no, no. This just won't do at all." Arata said. "These clothes just don't suit you in the slightest! They're just so plain!"

Takara looked down at her outfit. All she was wearing was an orange t-shirt, and a beige skirt. Nothing fancy or flashy. Though to be fair, she had expected to be getting a school uniform when she had arrived and didn't bother to pack any special clothes. "What's wrong with my clothes?" she asked.

"It's just that someone of your talent deserves a much more fitting attire!" Arata began. "You need to look more like the journalist you truly are! The instant I can find the way to our rooms, I'll unpack a fitting set of clothes that you can change into!" He seriously packed outfits for other people?! What did he think he was going to need them for?!

"So if our rooms aren't on the first floor, then where are they?" Takara asked.

"All of our rooms are located on the second floor." A new voice answered. Takara and Arata turned to find a short girl standing beside them. Her long, wavy hair was black as night itself, and almost appeared to form a shroud around her. She wore a simple black dress under a cloak of the same color. Around her neck was what appeared to be a magatama necklace. If it hadn't been for her friendly face and the lack of a hat, Takara could have mistaken her for a witch. The girl smiled at Takara. "Greetings, my fellow classmate. My name is Chiyo Ueda, and I am the Super High School Level Medium."

Chiyo was the only one among them who Takara questioned their talent. She was supposedly an expert at dealing with ghosts and spirits. She could sense the presence of the departed who refused to move on and could communicate with them, figuring out what caused them to linger and finding a way to let them move on to the next world. She could also contact the spirit world in order to speak to someone who had already moved on. There were even rumors that she could sense when a person was close to death. Many believed her abilities came from her lineage, as her family owned a centuries old shrine that was famous throughout the country. Though Takara refused to believe in anything unless she could gain evidence. It wasn't that she believed the girl was a liar, but Takara was just the kind of person who required solid proof to believe something. Ghosts just happened to be one of those things.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Tsukuda." Chiyo said, bowing out of formality. She was certainly polite, nothing that Takara had been expecting. "I do hope we can become friends even in our peculiar situation."

Peculiar was one way to put it. "You mean you found our rooms?" Arata asked her.

"Yes. I have already taken my own room key and placed my bags away." Chiyo explained. "A few of the others are already there doing the very same."

"So how can I get upstairs?" Arata asked.

"You will have to take the stairs I am afraid." Chiyo said. "The elevator is not working. Do not worry though, Mr. Miyazaki, the staircase is right over there." She pointed at the stairs, which were on the right side of the large lobby to their convenience. "By taking them, you shall be directly beside the hallway that contains all of our rooms."

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." Arata said with relief. "I mean, I  could have found it myself, but I'm not about to turn down help from a classmate. As for you Tsukuda, I'll find a much more fitting outfit for you. Until then!" With that, Arata walked off towards the stairs.

Takara wanted to follow him, but she couldn't help but wonder what the Medium was thinking about all this. Even with her skepticism, she thought that someone else's take on the situation at hand would help. "So what do you think happened to us, Chiyo?" Takara asked, interested in what theory she may have. "I know that letter said that this is all done by the school, but I just find that hard to believe don't you?"

Chiyo looked away in thought, trying to come up with an answer. "I can not say myself. Are you expecting me to say that we have been whisked away by some angry spirit?" she asked, letting out a giggle. Takara began to wonder if she was on to her. "All I can say for certain is that something is dangerous about this place."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Takara asked.

"I can sense an evil force lurking here. I do not know what it means just yet, but whatever it is can not lead to anything pleasant. I urge you Ms. Tsukuda, watch yourself. Unless you want misfortune to befall you." Chiyo answered. "But I digress, for now you should enjoy yourself and introduce yourself to our other classmates. I believe that we will be here for quite some time. I shall see you later." With that, Chiyo walked away towards the revolving doors, off to explore the remainder of the resort.

Takara decided that she didn't want to think about what she meant by an evil force. At least not now. Until there was reason to believe that things were dangerous, she was going to ignore that warning. Trying to shake off the strange feeling Chiyo's words gave her, Takara moved over to the stairs. She didn't want to waste anymore time in finding her room.


	2. Prologue - A Stay For Sixteen II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I happened to have this part finished already, so I uploaded it now. We're already halfway through the prologue, weird huh.

Just as Chiyo had told her, the hallway which lead to the hotel rooms was only a few steps away from the stairs. Entering the hallway, Takara saw many different bags sitting in front of the doors, with card keys sitting on top of them. A few of the doors had no bags in front of them, while other doors were opened. Most likely because the owners were inside getting their bags unpacked. The strange thing about the doors though, was that there were nameplates in front of where the numbers would be. Each nameplate had a picture resembling some kind of video game sprite that looked like each student, and underneath the picture was the name of the occupant. What was the point of them though? Were they even allowed to put these here? Takara went to the end of the hall to see if any of the other rooms were like that, but not a single door had a nameplate. They all had numbers. She didn't decide to dwell on it too much, once that faculty member arrived she figured she could ask them.

From her observations, the girls rooms were all on the right side while the boys were on the left. At least that made it easier to remember. Takara walked along the right side, trying to find her room. But just before she could reach it, the door next to it slammed open and someone fell on top of her.

"What were you standing in front of the door for? Didn't you hear me shout out 'Incoming' at the top of my voice?" The person asked. Takara sat up once the person rolled off of her, and almost couldn't believe what she was looking at. Sitting beside her now was a girl with hot pink hair, which was pulled up into a ponytail with a lime green ribbon. She wore a yellow jacket that either had short sleeves or the sleeves rolled up, a long sleeved shirt with black and white stripes, a bright orange skirt, and a pair of red sandals. Around both of her wrists were colorful candy bracelets. If Arata looked at this girl for two seconds he would probably have a heart attack.

"Um, no, I didn't." Takara answered with honesty. She didn't hear anything coming from the room.

"Whaaaaaaat? How could you not hear me?!" The girl asked. "I was really really loud when I said it!" Her train of thought seemed to shift, because she began to look over the journalist with intrigue all of a sudden. "I haven't met you, have I?" she asked in innocence. How did she manage to change the subject so fast?

"No, you ran out of the recreational room before I could even talk to you." Takara said. "So you are?"

"Ku! Mi! Ko! A! Ka! Mi! Ne!" she said, pronouncing each syllable. "Put it all together and you get Kumiko Akamine!"

So this was the Super High School Level Comic Artist. Kumiko Akamine was a well known name in the comics circle, despite not being a professional mangaka. In five years she had worked on ten comics, with over half of them finished. She posted all of her material online on her own website, but she had books of her completed works selling all around Japan. There were even efforts in other countries to translate her works in over twenty languages. And there were rumors that she was working with the people who wanted to translate it into English. Whatever image Takara had of her before, it was broken upon seeing the girl before her. She didn't expect the hyper girl from before to be someone who was able to work on comics.

"So anyway, are you sure you said something before coming through the door?" Takara asked as both girls stood up.

"Absolutely! I heard my own voice and shouted with all the fire in my soul!" Kumiko said, her arms swinging from side to side.

"Then how come I didn't hear you?" Takara questioned.

"It's because the rooms seem to be soundproof, at least that's what I managed to gather." Takara and Kumiko turned their heads and saw one of the boys had left their room. All he wore was an outfit that looked like a chef's uniform. His hair also seemed pretty subdued, considering it was short and black. "Me and one of the other guys were testing to see how loud we could get without being heard in another room, but even though we were screaming we couldn't hear each other. They must be pretty well insulated for that. It's probably so that the other guests aren't disturbed by anyone being unusually loud."

"I guess that makes sense." Takara said. "It would explain why I didn't hear Miss Hyperactive before she barreled out of her room." She pointed at Kumiko, who seemed to have spaced out as she was humming to herself.

"I'm Masaru Nishioka by the way. Figure I should tell you before I forget." The boy said with a nervous laugh.

Masaru was the Super High School Level Patisserie, and he looked the part. He was known for making the best pastries and baked goods you could ever taste. Even though he came from a small town, he caused his families bakery to become famous. Everyone wanted a taste of his food. Even his melon bread was the tastiest you could ever find. While he was by no means a chef or cook, the things he could make were just divine.

"Say, what does your title even mean?" Kumiko asked. "I've never heard of a patty-seer before." It was clear that she had no idea how to say the word. Takara was curious herself. She did know what he was good at, but the meaning of his title escaped her.

"It's a French word." Another female voice joined in. "It basically means 'pastry chef'. Which suits Masaru here to a T." Takara recognized this girl. It was the glasses girl who was helping her before. Her blond hair was neatly styled into a braid. She was wearing a blue sweater vest (what was with these people and vests anyway? It seemed like everyone was wearing one) over a white blouse, a dark gray skirt, and long white stockings covered only by her shoes. She looked like she belonged in an office instead of a school. "I see you're doing better." she said, looking over at Takara.

"Yeah, I'm doing just fine now. I think I can handle things on my own for now." Takara said. "How did you know what patisserie means anyway?"

"Well considering she's the Super High School Level Translator, it would be a sinch for her!" Masaru said with a beaming smile.

"Translator?" Takara pondered "So then you must be-"

"Naomi Williams, yes. Pleasure to meet you." she said.

Naomi Williams. Now she had an interesting story. Born to a Japanese mother and a British father, she had spent most of her life in England. She was taught to speak both English and Japanese, so she was already bilingual at a young age. She soon began to learn other languages as she became older. It didn't take long before she was helping her father with his work, giving him the ability to deal with international affairs. By the time she and her mother returned to Japan, she was fluent in at least ten different languages even though she was only in middle school. She was assured to be critical in international relationships once she was out of school.

"You're Takara Tsukuda, right?" Naomi asked.

"Yep. I can see you did your research." Takara smirked.

"Of course I did." The Translator smiled. "Hope's Peak Academy is a unique school after all, and I just had to learn what I could to understand the unique students chosen to attend. That is, if that makes any sense." She nervously laughed.

"Made sense to me! I understood you crystal clearrrrrrr!" Kumiko said, making over-the-top gestures as she spoke. Was she always like this?

"Well, if you'll excuse me I'd like to check in to my room." Takara said. "I'll see you all later." She stepped over to her door, which had all her bags in front of it, picked up the card that served as her room key, and swiped it through the sensor. As she put her bags inside the room, she managed to hear Arata leave his room and scream before shutting the door. She could only assume he was reacting to Kumiko's outfit and snickered. She left her bags beside the entrance and put her key in a pocket. On the right side of the door was a small closet and a door which she assumed was her bathroom. That wasn't important to her at the moment though, she needed to get a better look at just what kind of room she would be staying in.

It was high-quality, that was for sure. It appeared that they were all receiving Western styled rooms. Resting against the right wall was a large bed, which was intended for a maximum of two people. Beside it was a nightstand that had a lamp and clock resting on top of it. The clock read 11:25 AM in green numbers. Opposite of the bed was a large flat screen TV, to the left of it was a desk while on the right was a miniature fridge. Over at the very end of the left wall was a door. She made a mental note to figure out what that was later. At the back of the room was a large sliding door with an open curtain that led to a balcony. As much as she wanted to see the view, Takara was too busy enjoying her new space. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

The only thing that confused her was how personalized her room seemed to be. Stuck to the wall were various clippings from magazines and newspapers, all of them articles she had written. There was also a picture over on the nightstand that showed Takara and her middle school newspaper club. Where did all of these come from anyway? And why were her articles on the walls? She decided to figure it out later, all good answers come to those who wait. Besides, she had more of the resort to explore, and seven more classmates to meet. She could always relax later if she wanted. She opened the door to the now empty hallway, and made her way back to the stairs.

Once she was back on the first floor, she figured she should take a look at the remaining areas inside the hotel. She looked at the sign that pointed her to the restaurant and headed in the direction it told her. The entrance wasn't hard to find, as there was a great decorated sign hanging above it. She couldn't read it though since the name was in English. Regardless, she entered. She was expecting to be greeted by a server of some kind, or even hear the sounds of people enjoying an early lunch. Yet to her surprise the place was empty and quiet. That is, aside from a banging noise. How come this place was empty though? Takara had never seen an eating establishment so devoid of people. But before she could think of any more oddities, a shout startled her.

"WHY ISN'T THIS DAMN DOOR OPENING?!" Well there was certainly someone here. Running over to where she heard the shout come from, Takara saw a girl and a boy standing in front of a door that wouldn't budge. From the looks of it, it was the entrance to the kitchen. The girl was furiously kicking at the door, angered by the fact it wasn't opening. She had short red hair and was wearing a sports uniform, Takara wanted to say that it was a football uniform, but she wasn't sure. Sports had never been her forte. The boy however, who was just wearing an old high school uniform, appeared to be scowling at the girl. Takara wondered how he could see her with locks of dark brown hair almost covering his right eye.

"Probably because you don't kick a door to open it, you idiot." The boy said with vitriol, most likely in response to the girl's previous question.

The girl stopped kicking the door and turned to the one berating her. "Well it wasn't opening when I tried to push or pull it, so I figured maybe I'd take a third option!" she rebutted. "At least I'm doing something, unlike your flat pasty butt!"

"Hey, excuse me?" Takara said. "Is something going on here?" The two people looked at her, shocked that someone was there and listening to them argue.

"Nah, not really." The girl responded. "I was just trying to get into the kitchen, thinking maybe I could actually FIND someone in this stupid place, but the door won't open. Meanwhile, he's been wandering around and berating me." She pointed at the boy next to her.

"The only reason I'm even following you in the first place is because I actually want to find some authority around here!" The boy said. "I mean really, most of the rooms here are locked off, there's not a single member of hotel staff anywhere around here, and there's also the fact that we've been taken here against our will! What kind of joke is this?!"

"You're a real ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Takara said, getting a laugh out of the girl and a glare from the boy.

"Oh, I like you!" The girl said. "You and me, I think we can become good friends! The name's Ayame Ishikawa!" She then pointed over to her companion, who was trying to blow the hair out of his face. "And this walking ball of pessimism is Ryouta Hoshino."

Well, Takara was definitely right about the football uniform, because Ayame was the Super High School Level Football Player. At first, she played the game just for fun, but once she reached middle school she joined a sports club and began to play to win. No matter what position she took, she was a beast at it. Even being goalie was phenomenal, as she rarely allowed a ball to make it into the goal. She could lead any team into victory without even trying. There were some people who even believed that she should be allowed on a professional team. Though that appeared to be her plans once she finished school. She wanted to earn the position instead of have it given to her.

Then there was Ryouta Hoshino, the Super High School Level Florist. If there was anything you wanted to know about flowers, then he could tell you in a heartbeat. He was a master at flower arrangement styles, knew what every flower represented in flower language, and could breed the most dazzling flowers anyone had seen. He worked in his parents flower shop since he was a kid, and even performed deliveries for his parents when they couldn't. Unfortunately, there wasn't that much information about him that Takara could get her hands on. She had to admit, compared to the rest of their classmates Ryouta had got the short end of the stick when it came to his talent.

"Hi." Ryouta said, making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the conversation. And here Takara thought that Miyako was the rude one.

"So you're saying that there isn't a single hotel staff member here?" Takara asked. She remembered that there was no one at the front desk, but for the whole staff to just be absent? That was strange.

"No one! I ringed the bell at the front desk about a hundred times too, but no one answered!" Ayame said. "I tried to see if maybe there was someone at the pool, but the locker rooms are locked and that's the only way into the pool!"

"It's not just the staff who are missing." Ryouta added. "Aside from us, there doesn't seem to be a single person staying at this hotel!"

"No one?" Takara questioned. No hotel patrons at all? "Why would the school take us to resort without a single person here?"

"Hell if I know." Ayame said. "That's what I'm trying to figure out! There's also the fact that we can't even look around the whole place!"

"She's right. There are pathways outside that supposedly lead to other areas of the resort, but only one of them is open!" Ryouta explained. "What kind of vacation is this supposed to be, anyway?!"

"And there's cameras all over the place!" Ayame said. "Even our rooms have them! Plus there's these weird monitors all over the place. What are those supposed to be for?"

"Hopefully that faculty member from the school will show up soon." Takara said. "Maybe then we'll get some answers."

"I hope so, because I have a number of complaints!" Ryouta said.

"Well until then, I'm gonna keep looking for somebody who can tell us what's going on." Ayame said. "We haven't taken a look at wherever that one open path goes, so maybe there's someone there."

"I guess I can go check, it seems like there isn't anywhere else for me to go around here anyway." Takara said. "I'll come let you know if I find something."

"Whatever. Just go already. All you're doing is wasting time here." Ryouta said.

"You know, if you keep acting like that then no one's gonna like you." Ayame said.

"You say that as if I care." Ryouta said.

Realizing there was no point to stick around here, Takara made her way towards the restaurant exit. As she approached the door, she noticed that there was a monitor hanging on the wall just like Ayame said. It seemed out of place for the hotel to have something like that, but everything about this trip so far seemed strange. The only thing she could do at this point was go outside and see what lied beyond the hotel.


	3. Prologue - A Stay For Sixteen III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things I forgot to mention. What art I do have finished of the characters can be found either on my DeviantArt page (ParadoxProphet) or on my art blog on Tumblr (prophetarts). So if you want to see what some of the characters are suppose to look like then go take a look there. Secondly, I realized that I forgot to go through the last chapter and change some things, but Ayame's title is referring to what people here in the U.S. call soccer. Since these kids are Japanese, I thought it would be easier to say she's a football player instead of a soccer player. Just wanted to fix that up in case there was confusion.

Outside the hotel, Takara felt a drastic change in temperature. She didn't expect it to be so hot, but she realized that there was probably air conditioning inside that kept things nice and cool. She would most likely get used to the heat in a moment. Before heading out to explore, she looked back to see the exterior of the building she had awakened in. It looked like your standard hotel. There were five, no six, floors in total. In front of the building was a sign that read "Paradise Hotel". She hadn't heard that name before, then again it could be a fairly recent hotel. She had so many questions, but no one who could answer them.

Standing in front of her were four different pathways. One went straight ahead, one went slightly to the left, one went all the way to the right, and the last one went all the way to the left. All of them were surrounded by foliage, though it seemed to be only trees for the most part. Though strangely she thought she saw palm trees among them. Wasn't this supposed to be a mountainside resort? What were palm trees doing here of all places? Only one of the paths was open, but she had no idea which one. She began to wish Ayame or Ryouta was there to direct her in the right path, or at least told her which path was open. Though luck appeared to be on her side at that moment, as someone was jogging up the middle path.

It was one of the boys. He was wearing a tank top and a pair of white shorts. His sneakers looked filthy, but that was probably due to the fact that there was dirt everywhere you stepped. He appeared to have been jogging for a while now, as he stopped next to the journalist to catch his breath. Strands of his dark gray hair fell in front of his face, but he didn't seem concerned about it. "Um, are you alright there?" Takara asked. "You look exhausted."

"Oh, this is nothing!" The boy said, almost in a braging manner. He was clearly lying though since he had to breathe in-between words. "Back home I've ran for probably three miles in one go, or something along those lines. This is just a warm-up! I figured that I should get some exercise while I was out here. Just because I'm on a vacation doesn't mean I'm about to slack off!"

"Don't go overboard though, you crazy person, you're clearly tired!" Takara said. Was this guy dense or something?

"Hey, no pain no gain as I always say." The boy said through his breaths. "I like a challenge. If you think that I, Hikaru Nagai, am a crazy person, you obviously haven't seen what some people will do for their sport." He let out a laugh, though he couldn't do it for too long.

Hikaru Nagai, Super High School Level Track Runner. He was one of the fastest people on foot you could find. He had broken so many track and running records, it just seemed impossible. He could win almost any race without barely breaking a sweat. He was so good, he had the possibility to represent Japan in the next Olympics. The only other notable thing about him was his fans. Takara wasn't sure why, but he had a large number of teenage girls swooning over him. They would go to every one of his track meets, even if they didn't attend the same school as him! Takara couldn't believe the large amount of fan sites he managed to accumulate, or how crazy all those girls were for him. Why would anyone waste their time on the internet gushing about some famous boy they had never met, and get offended when someone didn't think they were so great? That was just the stupidest thing she had ever seen. Sure, Hikaru was good looking there was no denying that, but it's not like he was anyone Takara would swoon over.

"If you say so, I'm not about to stop you." Takara said with a sigh. "Say, could you tell me which one of these paths are open? I want to look around the place but I don't know where to go."

"Oh that's easy, you just take the middle path right there." Hikaru said as he pointed his finger to the path he had just came from. "After a while you'll see buildings and some other stuff. I think there are still a few or our classmates down there, so you can ask them if there's anything worthwhile."

"You mean you didn't see for yourself?" Takara asked.

"Nah, I just wanted a quick look of the area." Hikaru said, his breaths becoming less frequent and heavy. "I'm sure you'll find something interesting down there. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go inside now. I need to go to my room for a second." He walked over to the revolving door and headed inside.

" _This_ is the guy people have dedicated entire forums and blogs to?" Takara said, trying not to laugh. "Some people have low standards I guess." She looked back to the paths ahead, walking straight for the middle one.

There wasn't much to see on her way there, just a whole lot of trees. Before long, the dirt path became stone, indicating that she was almost there. The trees began to get sparse before she found buildings, just as Hikaru had told her. It looked like she had found herself in some strange shopping district. There was a convenience store, a place to buy clothing, even tacky looking souvenir shops. Takara began to question the quality of the resort. The hotel was nice, even if areas were closed off, but this all looked like nothing more but a tourist trap. As she walked by, her eyes managed to catch the interest of a different type of building.

The sign above the door read something in English (she was starting to regret not learning it). Curious, she walked inside the building to see what was there. The entire place had washing machines and dryers lined up against the walls. There were also some sitting in the middle of the room. Was this a coin-laundry or something? It sure seemed like it. The only other thing of real interest was the girl in the room.

She had long and wavy dark-brown hair, that Takara almost mistook for black hair. She wore a high school uniform that was red and black. Around her neck was a magenta scarf that appeared to match the color of her eyes. She also wore a pair of brown boots. Takara recognized her, this was the girl who had noticed the letter earlier. There was something else about her that felt familiar though, but she couldn't figure out what it was. The girl seemed to notice her, as she walked over with a smile. "Hi! I see you came to check out the laundromat, huh?" she said.

"Laundromat?" Takara asked. "But this is a coin-laundry isn't it?"

"Well the sign outside said 'laundromat' so while it looks like a coin-laundry I guess that's not what you call it." The girl said, almost as confused as Takara was. "Maybe Naomi would be able to explain it."

"Okay, so what exactly is this place then?" Takara asked. "Is it the same thing as a coin-laundry or not?"

"Well, I just got here myself, so I can't say for sure." The girl said. "But from what I've gathered, it is like one. The only differences are that the coin inserts appear to be locked in place, and you can either hang your laundry in here or use the dryers."

"But if they're locked, then how are you supposed to do your laundry?" Takara asked, getting more confused by the second.

The girl shrugged. "I have no idea. Though it wouldn't matter since we don't appear to have money on us anyway. And if we could insert money, who knows if it even would accept yen? Because I don't think we're anywhere in Japan right now."

"Wait what." Takara said in a flat tone of voice. Not in Japan? How was that possible? "What do mean we're not in Japan?"

"Well it's just a guess, nothing certain." The girl said, trying to calm Takara. "The only other guess I have is that this resort is also meant for people outside of Japan."

"Why do you say that?" Takara asked, feeling a bit more relaxed.

"Well there's a lot of English aside from Japanese on the signs around here." The girl explained. "Not to mention that everything has a Western feel to it. The hotel rooms, the bathrooms in our rooms, even this laundromat has some Western elements. It's all just a guess though, so I might be wrong in both cases."

"Dang, you've thought about this a lot haven't you?" Takara said.

"Oh no, no, no. Like I said, it's just guesses and nothing more. I don't even have much proof to back me up on this. I just took notice of the details I could make out." The girl insisted. "This kind of stuff isn't exactly my forte."

"While we're at it, what is your forte anyway?" Takara asked. "You haven't introduced yourself to me."

"I didn't? Damn! I was so lost in thought, I must have forgotten!" The girl said, a bit freaked out that she forgot about it. "Anyway, I'm Shizuka Matsuki! And I'm the Super High School Level Painter! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She bowed out of politeness, realizing she never did that either.

Ohhh, that's what was familiar about her. She was another person that didn't require much research, what with being the biggest thing in the art world. Many people would consider Shizuka a painting prodigy. She began when she was only five years old, and she's been painting ever since. No one was sure just what it was about her artwork that was so captivating. Some thought it was the combinations of color, others thought it was the images of the paintings themselves. She had earned thousands of yen from commissions and selling her artwork to museums. She even held a number of art exhibitions showcasing her latest work. No one knew just what she was like deep down, as she rarely accepted interviews or spoke during her events. The real Shizuka was a mystery to everyone. There wasn't even a way to tell if the happy-go lucky girl she appeared to be was the real her or not.

"I really am sorry about forgetting to introduce myself!" Shizuka said. "First impressions are the most important and I would hate to come off as someone rude and forgetful!" She seemed worried about all this.

"Hey, relax. I'm not mad or anything." Takara said. Now she was trying to reassure the painter. "Mistakes happen, you know? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Alright, if you say so." Shizuka said. "I guess I won't worry about it if it's not a big deal."

"So is there anything else interesting around here?" Takara asked. "Or is it just these strange shops?"

"No, there's two other areas of interest." Shizuka said. "There's a botanical garden two buildings down, a library of some kind past that, and what appears to be a dock at the end of the path."

"A dock?" Takara said. "Are there any boats there?"

Shizuka shook her head. "No, not a single one. Though maybe that's how our chaperone is going to get here? I can't think of any other way." she said as she played with her scarf.

"I guess." Takara said. "Well, all the better reason to look around the rest of the place. See you later."

"Oh, okay! Later!" Shizuka said, waving good bye as Takara walked back outside.

A garden, a library, and a dock. Those were the only three areas left that seemed interesting. The dock was empty though, so there was no point going there. The botanical garden was close by though, so she decided to stop there first. Just like the painter had said, she only had to pass by two buildings before finding the entrance. It was a stone arch covered in vines with the word "Botanical Gardens" written on top of it.

Stepping inside, Takara found herself in an amazing world that seemed like it was from a dream. Everywhere she looked there were gorgeous plants of all varieties. Trees, flowers, trimmed hedges, it was all there. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all, even if it had some stupid stores. This garden felt so serene, so peaceful.

"My, my, my. I didn't expect to find such a lovely flower like yourself here." Well that didn't last very long. Takara turned to find a boy standing a few feet away, attempting to look smooth. He combed his platinum blond hair back as he smirked at the journalist. His other hand was resting in the pocket of his dark purple pants. He attempted to straighten up his black uniform jacket before walking closer to her. Was this guy for real? "This garden is now ten times as beautiful with you heEYAH!" He tripped on a shoelace and fell face first into the ground. Takara couldn't help but let out a bit of laughter at the predicament. She knew it wasn't funny, after all he could be badly injured, but she couldn't help herself.

"Need a little help there, Casanova?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her last word. She heard a muffled "Yes please.", and pulled the guy up by the arms.

"Aw shit, and I was trying to be all suave too." The boy said, thankfully with no damage to his face. "I thought I had you too."

"Sorry Casanova, but you're gonna need to try harder then that." Takara said. She looked down at his shoes. "Not to mention make sure your shoes are tied correctly.

"My name isn't 'Casanova', if you don't mind!" The boy said with a huff.

"Well I don't know your name, so you're gonna be called that until you tell me who you are." Takara informed him. This was too much fun.

"Well then listen up carefully, because I'm only going to say this once!" The boy said with pride. "I am the one and only Kaito Fujiwara! The greatest thing to happen to the animation world since computer graphics!"

Oh geez, she didn't imagine he would be this pathetic. Though to be fair, he wasn't joking about animation since that's what his talent was. Kaito Fujiwara, Super High School Level Animator, was one of the most influential people in the animation industry. He knew every type of animation there was, and could create something using any one of them. His work was always stunning and detailed no matter what he was working on. He had done everything from small effects in anime, to making award winning short films. He even worked on animated films of larger scale. He also had the tendency to make the claim that he was working for a big animation studio in America, but which one it was would always differ every time he told it. Takara had only seen one of his short films, but she had to admit that he was deserving of his title. His work was one of the reasons many people said animation was a form of art.

"I'm telling you, one day my name will go down in history with all the other animation legends! I'll be just as famous as Walt Disney, Hayao Miyazaki, and Osamu Tezuka!"

"But didn't Osamu Tezuka make more contributions to manga than animation?" Takara asked, hoping to take him down a peg.

"Well, I mean, that is!" Kaito began, attempting to think of how he could fight back her claim. "He did a lot of work in the field of anime too I'll have you know! Without him, it wouldn't have such a widespread audience like it does today!" He wasn't good at debating, was he?

"Sure, whatever you say." Takara said. "So have you seen anyone around here aside from our group? Ayame and Ryouta said they couldn't find any staff in the hotel and were hoping someone could be down here."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone else. I've gone into some of the stores to see if there was anything good, but there's no one working there! Not even the convenience store has anyone there!" Kaito said.

"Seriously? No one here, either?" Takara said. Why was this place completely deserted? Where did everyone else go?

"Well, there might be someone in that library or whatever." Kaito said. "I'm not much of a book person, so I didn't bother going over there, but I know I saw a few of our classmates go in. Guess you could try there."

"Is there anything else of interest in this garden?" Takara asked, she wanted to be absolutely certain that she wasn't missing anything.

"Well, there's some kind of playground further back, guess it's for kids or something, but otherwise there's nothing aside from a tool shed. There's really not much else to do here besides enjoy the nature." Kaito explained.

"Well in that case, I should get going." Takara said. She began to walk back the way she came, thoughts racing in her head.

"Wait!" Kaito called out. Takara stopped and looked back at the animator. "If it's not any trouble, do you think you could keep that whole falling on my face thing a secret? I don't want the other girls thinking I'm a loser."

"Don't worry, I'm not about to tell anyone something like that." Takara said reassuringly. "It's like it never even happened." Kaito let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. I won't try to flirt like that with you as a show of my gratitude!" he said as the journalist rolled her eyes and walked away. Some of these students were just strange.

Finding herself back at the stone path, Takara tried to remember what Shizuka had told her about where the library was. In the distance, she could see a building that looked like just what she was looking for. As she made her way over, she hoped that those students Kaito had mentioned were still there. She was beginning to think this whole place was a ghost town.

Approaching the building, she didn't even need a sign to tell her this was the library. It seemed a bit fancy, but there were stranger things going on here then the way a building looked. She went up the small set of stairs and opened the doors, expecting this to be the one space that would be quiet. But the loud shouting proved her wrong, as it seemed to echo throughout the whole building. She couldn't even find the source from listening alone. The only thing she could do was walk around until she found them. At least this gave her a chance to look around and see what kind of books there were. What interested her the most was that she found titles written in other languages. She couldn't understand what they said, but she managed to recognize English, French, German, and Spanish. There were Japanese books of course, but to see so many different languages in one place was incredible. It helped support Shizuka's theory that this place was not a typical Japanese resort. She made a mental note to tell Naomi about this place later.

The shouts began to grow louder as Takara found herself going up to the second floor. She only needed to pass a few bookshelves before she finally found the source of it. A girl was angrily shouting at a boy standing next to her, while the boy just seemed to be irritated as he shouted back. Having no clue what she had just walked into, and due to the fact that they were both shouting over each other, Takara had no idea what they were talking about. It was only when the girl raised a fist did she decide to intervene. She ran in-between the two of them and began to push them away from each other. "Hey, hey, hey, break it up you two! That's enough!" Takara said. "What the hell is going on here?"

"It's his fuckin' fault!" The girl claimed, speaking at a loud volume and pointing her finger at the boy. "If he had jus' been mindin' his own fuckin' buisness than maybe I wouldn't have tried ta punch his lights out!" She spoke like a punk, and her appearance seemed to fit with that image. She had green hair that went just past her shoulders. Her blouse was put on in a rather sloppy manner, as one side was sticking out of her skirt and her sleeves were rolled up. There wasn't a way of telling how the buttons had been done up, as they were covered by a striped green and black tie. Her skirt seemed to match said tie, the only difference being that it had a plaid pattern. Her socks were uneven, one of them being scrunched down up the edge of her white ans red sneakers. It didn't help that she was also pretty tall.

The boy let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't recall starting anything." he said. "In fact, I'm certain that it was _you_ who threatened to throw violence towards me." His appearance practically mirrored that of the girl's, as where she clearly didn't care if she looked sloppy, his appearance was nothing but tidy. His dark blue hair had been neatly combed back. Over his white and yellow school uniform, he wore a fancy black vest (if she saw one more person here wearing a vest she was going to kill them) that looked too formal for this setting. His hands were covered by white gloves, and he wore a set of boots that almost appeared to look gold. If only his demeanor was as pleasant as his clothing choice.

The girl appeared to have been pissed off by his comment, as her toothy scowl said all that it needed to. "Ya mothafucker, I'm 'bout ready ta really kick your ass!" she said.

"No, no, that isn't necessary!" Takara insisted, trying to hold back the tall girl. "What are you two even mad about in the first place?"

"I jus' want this fuckin' snob to leave me ta my own damn business!" The girl said. "Jus' cause he's some fancy ass don't mean he can criticize the way I do shit!"

"You truly are a broken record, aren't you?" The boy retorted with a smirk. Great, he was doing this on purpose.

"You know what, I don't care why you two are fighting or who started it, but it's ending now." Takara said, letting go of the girl. "You both have better things to do than throwing insults and making each other mad."

"And here I was beginning to think that no one here had any sensibility." The boy said. Wow, this guy was a prick. It was starting to become clear why the argument began in the first place.

"I'm talking about you too, you know." Takara pointed out.

"Oh, I'm quite aware of that." he responded. Was he trying to be an ass on purpose, or was he just unaware of how rude he sounded? "I was getting tired of it anyway. I should probably be going." He turned to begin walking away.

"You're not even going to introduce yourself?" Takara said, holding back a comment on how pompous he was being.

"I'm sorry, I thought that someone like you would have already known who I am. But I guess I set my standards too high." he said. "But if you must know, I am Shigeru Kitagawa."

This was the Super High School Level Composer? Sure the appearance fit, but his demeanor sure didn't. Shigeru Kitagawa was one of the few people in the world appreciated for creating orchestra and solo pieces. Many thought of him as the Japanese Mozart or Beethoven. While he mostly dedicated himself to creating works meant to be performed in a concert hall, he had created at least one or two soundtracks for an entire movie on his own. He also was known for playing the piano and violin, and every once in a while he would perform his work along with an orchestra. His CDs had sale numbers in the millions worldwide. With a talent like that, it was obvious to see why he had been accepted to Hope's Peak Academy.

"Now if that's all you need from me, I'll be on my way. So long, ladies." Shigeru said as he walked away. At least he had some manner of respect, even if it was feigned.

"God I wanna kick him so fuckin' much." The girl said. Takara wouldn't admit it, but she almost wished that she would. "Least he's finally gone. Don' think I can stand 'im."

"Your dialect, is it Osakan?" Takara asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Fuck yeah it is! West Osaka, born an' raised!" The girl said with a grin.

"Thought so, it sounded like Osakan dialect to me." Takara said. "So who are you? I don't think I've caught your name yet."

"You're lookin' at the one and only Kazumi Katsuya!" she said. "An' before ya ask, no I don' do fuckin' autographs."

Anyone in the entertainment industry would recognize that name. Kazumi Katsuya was the Super High School Level Vocalist after all. No one knew where she came from, she just appeared one day and took the music world by storm. Her punk rock style garnered a lot of fans. You couldn't even turn on the radio without hearing one of her songs playing, or at least that was how it seemed. Her music was so popular that it had top sales off the charts. For weeks her top single "Fourth To Finish" was the number one song in Japan. Her concerts always managed to be sold out of tickets in just a few days. And it wasn't just Japan that loved her, people all over the world loved her work. She was especially popular in America, which was a bit strange for a Japanese rock artist but it showed how far her influence was spread. There were even rumors spreading that she was going to perform a tour in America, but she refused to confirm or deny it. But then again, she rarely told the press anything about what she was planning. It never stopped them from trying. Takara even thought that this could be her chance to figure things out about her that no other reporter or journalist had.

"So how 'bout you? What's your big deal or whatever?" Kazumi asked. "I'm havin' a hard time figurin' ya out."

"Oh, well you see I'm-" Before Takara could say anything more, the sound of a monitor turning on distracted both of their attention. The two walked over next to the staircase to see that the monitor (or at least one of the ones in the library) was indeed on and showing static. Among the static was a black figure with no discernible features.

"Ah, ah, can everyone here me loud and clear? Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3!" A childish-sounding voice came out of the speakers. "Is this thing on? Ah, yes, there we go! Ahem, attention all Hope's Peak Academy students! Please make your way to the hotel lobby immidiately! Anyone who is not at the front desk in ten minutes will be punished, and I'm certain you don't want to start off this special vacation like that, now would you?" There's a sinister tone in those last few words that seems to stick as the screen turns blank. What was that about punishment?

"Aw man, I guess dat stupid teacher or whatever finally showed up." Kazumi said, slightly annoyed. "Normally I'd say fuck dat shit and keep lookin' around, but I don' wanna get in trouble with the school before my classes have even started. Don' know what you're gonna do, but I'm outta here. Later!" With that, she jumped onto the railway and began sliding down the stairs.

Takara was a bit worried about that punishment comment, so there was no way she was sticking around to find out what it meant. She rushed down the stairs as well and ran out the doors. Without hesitation, she began to run as fast as she could back to the hotel. Her instincts were telling her that something was about to go down, and unfortunately for Takara, her instincts were usually right. She had no time to waste. Even though she saw some of her classmates running as well, she had no time to stop and chat with them. Getting back was her biggest priority.

Before she knew it, Takara found herself in front of Paradise Hotel. She was covered in sweat and out of breath, but she could rest once she made it inside. Making it through the spinning door, she fell to her knees in the lobby. She made a note to herself that she would never run that fast again. "You need some help there?" She looked up to see Hikaru holding a hand out to her. She didn't say a word, but grabbed hold of it as he pulled her up and allowed her to rest against him. She didn't realize it before, but the track runner had a lot of muscle on him. "And you say I'm the crazy one?" he said with a smirk. Takara didn't say a anything, she was too out of breath to comment. "Sorry, that was too much wasn't it? I couldn't help myself though. Just hang in there and you'll get your strength back momentarily."

Takara looked over at the other students, noticing them talk among one another. She hoped that Satoshi wouldn't notice her right now, the last thing she wanted was someone like him bugging her. Two people were still missing, but there was still some time left so she wasn't too worried. She began to feel some energy return to her so she asked, "What do you think this is gonna be all about anyway?"

Hikaru thought for a moment before answering. "Well, it's probably the standard procedure or something." he said. "They're just going to be told what we can and can't do and be given all the guidelines. Stuff like that."

"But what about that punishment thing?" Takara asked, trying to steady her breathing.

"Oh I doubt it's that serious. It bet it's just something like cleaning the restaurant kitchen, you know." Hikaru said. "Why, you nervous about it or something?"

"I just feel like it's more serious than that." Takara said.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! Get away from me, you stupid pervert!" Everyone's head seemed to turn when Kumiko's voice came trailing down the lobby. She was running as if she was being chased by some serial killer. Behind her was a frantic looking Arata, confused about why she was afraid of him.

"I told you, that wasn't what I meant! I'm not even following you, I'm just trying to get down here the same as you are!" Arata insisted. What the hell happened between those two?

"You're nothing but a super duper creep! Leave me alone!" Kumiko said as she took shelter behind Chiyo of all people. "Help me Chiyo, this pervert won't go away!" Did Kumiko have a connection to her or something?

"Oh come on Ueda, I didn't do anything! You have to believe me!" Arata said.

"Whatever may have happened between you and my best friend does not matter to me right now." Chiyo said. "However, I would prefer it if you would respect her wishes, Mr. Miyazaki and left her alone."

"But I'm not a pervert I tell you! I would never!" Arata said.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure this is a lost cause." Kaito told the designer. "Just let it go before the spooky ghost girl here sends spirits to haunt you in your sleep."

"Why did this have to happen to me?" Arata said dejectedly as he walked away.

"I didn't know Chiyo and Kumiko were best friends." Takara said, letting go of Hikaru. She figured she was in a good enough shape to stand by herself.

"Oh yeah, turns out they knew each other long before they were accepted or whatever." Ayame said as she came closer to the two of them. "I don't know the exact details though. I'll have to ask them about it later."

"Well, looks like we've got everybody here!" The voice they all heard before shouted from nowhere.

"Um, where did that voice come from?" Shizuka asked, unable to see whoever spoke to them.

"I'm not sure." Miyako stated bluntly.

"Don't you kiddies worry, the answers to all your questions and more will soon be answered." The voice spoke again.

"Maybe it's jus' me, but I think it's comin' from the reception desk." Kazumi said.

"No, your ears are working. I can hear it from there too." Shigeru said, surprisingly being polite for once.

"Well you two certainly have good hearing! But what else is to be expected from the Vocalist and the Composer." The voice replied.

"Why are you hiding like this? S-show yourself at once!" Ryouta demanded, paranoia in his voice.

"Now that's no way to speak to your headmaster!" The voice said, getting slightly angry. "But if you bastards are that insistent on seeing my face, then I just can't say no to that." Wait, did it say headmaster? Before there was any time to speak, something popped out from behind the front desk and landed on top of it. Sitting there was what looked like a strange stuffed bear. One side of it was completely white, while the other side was completely black. It's left eye was in an unusual shape and glowed red. No one knew how to react. This wasn't serious was it?

Takara could only say one thing. "...What."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do I portray Osakan dialect in English anyway haha


	4. Prologue - A Stay For Sixteen IV

"Is that...a stuffed bear? Or am I just seeing things?" Minoru asked.

"How rude! I'm no stuffed toy! I am Monokuma, and I am this school's headmaster!" The bear said. But how could that be? The note said that someone else was the headmaster, didn't it? And even so, how could _this thing_ be in charge of the school?

"Wooooaaaaaahh!! It can talk! How can you do that?" Kumiko said, unstartled by the fact that this Monokuma was alive. "Is there a speaker in you or something?" She ran up to the desk and curiously began poking him. "Ooooo! Or maybe you're a sentient toy revealing the secret that toys are alive to the world? Tell me, tell me, tell meeeeeeee!"

"Hey, cut that out!" Monokuma said, swatting his arm at Kumiko's hand. "I already told you I'm not a toy! I'm the headmaster, and you bastards better treat me with some respect!"

"I highly doubt that the school would send someone like you to be our chaperone." Naomi said as Kumiko backed away from Monokuma. "Just what qualifications do you have to run Hope's Peak in the first place?"

"Ah, you see, I came here because your original chaperone has, well, found themselves in an accident!" Monokuma said with glee. The fact that he seemed happy about it was unsettling. "So here I am to make sure you all follow the rules like good little students! We wouldn't want you doing anything E-rated after all. This is supposed to be a T-rated experience!" What on earth was he talking about?

"Yeah right, like you're really supposed to do that." Takara heard Ayame whisper.

"But enough stalling! I gathered you all here because there's been a change in plans considering your vacation." Monokuma announced, ignoring Naomi's second question.

"And just what would this change of plans be?" Satoshi asked, still acting relaxed.

"I'm glad you asked, Teruya!" Monokuma said. "You see, a peaceful vacation in paradise just doesn't cut it! Where's the excitement in it! I tell ya, no one wants to read something boring like that! So as of this moment, you are to stay here at this mountain resort for an indefinite period of time!"

"What the fuck do ya mean by 'indefinite'?" Kazumi asked, scratching her head.

"Honestly, you kids these days just continue to let me down. Some beacons of hope you turned out to be." Monokuma said. "To put it simply, you bastards are staying here forever and will not be allowed to leave!" He laughed as everyone became shocked, even Satoshi and Shigeru were unsettled by this news.

"What?! You can't be serious!" Kaito said frantically.

"Oh but I am, Fujiwara. I'm beary serious!" Monokuma said. "Kids these days are always complaining about how their summer vacations just fly by in a month, even though you're lucky to get a break in the first place! I'm giving you an infinite vacation, you should be happy that I'm being so nice!"

"Please tell me he didn't just say 'beary serious'." Arata said.

"He didn't say it." Miyako said, still coming off as stoic. How was she not reacting to this news? They were trapped here and she had no reaction to that? What could get to this girl?!

"He didn't mean that literally, Miyako." Masaru said.

"I don't see why you kids are so shocked, I would think you'd like it here!" Monokuma said, jumping off of the desk and walking towards them. "After all, the outside world is full of nothing but dishonesty and backstabbing. You're meant to be the embodiments of hope itself! We just can't let you be exposed to such an unforgiving world! I should also mention that from this moment on, you're completely isolated from the outside world. There's no way out of this place and no one you can communicate with."

"I don' think so, teddy bear." Kazumi said with a smirk. "Ya forgot 'bout our cell phones! We can jus' call da police or our parents with dese babies!"

"Well, you seem quite certain of yourself don't you, Katsuya?" Monokuma asked. "In that case, why don't you show me this cell phone of yours?"

"Fuckin' gladly!" Kazumi said, reaching into her pocket. "I got it right he-" She stopped and looked at her pocket. She began to pat it with her hands, getting worried that she was unable to find anything. "Where da fuck did my phone go?!"

"Upupupu, you see? It isn't that easy!" Monokuma said. "All of your phones have been confiscated for the purpose of your vacation, so don't get any ideas that you can use them to escape!" Upon hearing that, everyone instantly began checking their pockets in search for their phones. Takara took off the backpack and rummaged through to find any sign of her phone, but there was no luck. It was really gone. And from the looks on everyone's faces, no one else could find theirs.

"W-why would you confiscate our phones though? We haven't even done anything!" Ryouta said.

"It's not like they would do you any good. This entire resort is a dead zone for phones in the first place! If anything, I saved you the trouble of dealing with useless phones!" Monokuma said. "You should all be thanking me!

"This isn't fair! I wanna go home!" Kumiko said, tears in her eyes.

"I already told you, I can't allow you to leave! Where's the fun in that after all? But, if you truly want to leave that badly, then there is one way I could work around it." Monokuma said.

"You mean that right?" Takara asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "There's actually a way for us to get out of here? You're not just telling us that?" She knew better than to trust him word for word, in fact she expected him to say he was just kidding, but something was better than nothing.

"I would never do such a thing like that! I'm a bear of my word who always tells the truth. If I say you can leave, then there's a way you can leave!" Monokuma answered.

"Then quit saying that and just tell us what we have to do!" Shigeru said. He was getting very irritated by this stupid bear and his antics. "You're trying my patience!"

"So impatient, Kitagawa. I haven't even had the chance to tell you!" Monokuma said, getting a bit angry himself. "It's incredibly simple really. As your gracious headmaster, I've set up a nifty little something I like to call: the Graduation Clause!"

"Graduation Clause?" Masaru asked. "How does graduation work?"

"Well, as students of Hope's Peak Academy you are all bound to stick by a set of rules." Monokuma explained. "These rules allow you to live out your communal resort life in peace and order. However, if someone breaks that order and gets away with it, then that student will be allowed to leave!"

"What exactly do you mean by 'breaking order and getting away with it' anyway?" Takara asked. "That seems pretty vague."

"Must I simplify everything for you brats?" Monokuma said. "What I'm saying is that to leave this resort, you must murder one of your fellow students and not get caught!" What? He can't be serious, can he? Why would he want them to murder each other? All the students got visibly nervous or shocked. The expressions on their faces said everything. "You can use any method you like. Beating, stabbing, drowning, poisoning, clubbing, shooting, impaling, whatever your twisted little minds come up with! It's all fair game in this Vacation of Mutual Killing!"

"You're not serious, are you?" Shizuka asked, visibly shaking. "You don't really want us to try and kill each other, do you?"

"What part of 'murder your fellow students' did you not understand?" Monokuma said. "For Super High School Level Students, you sure require a lot of explanations."

"Forget it, you stupid bear! We're not going to kill anyone no matter what you say!" Hikaru exclaimed. Yeah, there didn't need to be any killing. Sure, they didn't exactly know each other very well, but to murder someone would leave a huge weight on one's shoulders.

"Oh, I think you're mistaken." Monokuma said. "I'm not ordering you to kill anyone. Whether you decide to do it or not is up to you! But if you ask me, I think it's gonna happen whether I tell you to or not!"

"I have a question, Mr. Monokuma." Chiyo spoke, looking a bit unsettled. "Let us say that one of us does decide they wish to leave and kills someone. You mentioned that a person could only leave if they murdered a classmate and was able to hide their crime. If they are unsuccessful in keeping their act a secret, what would happen to the culprit?"

"My, my! How polite you are, Ueda. I don't think I've ever heard someone call me 'Mr. Monokuma' before! Such words give me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside!" Monokuma said, flattered by the medium's comment as his cheeks went pink. "I'd be happy to answer that for you! If one of you bastards can't cover up your crime, then the culprit will be punished accordingly! They did disturb the peace after all, we just can't let them get away with that once they've been caught."

"Just what is this 'punishment' thing you keep talking about anyway?" Ayame asked. "Do we have to like, clean around the resort or something?"

"Oh no, no, no, it's nothing like that." Monokuma answered. "No, what I have in store is much more exciting! Since you need things to be explained slowly and clearly, I'm not going to beat around the bush. It means you'll be executed!"

Everyone fell silent. He couldn't be serious about all this, there was no way!

"Oh, I almost forgot! If the culprit manages to get away with murder, then the rest of you will be punished instead! Isn't that wonderful?" Monokuma added.

"Whaaaaat?!" Kaito yelled.

"The spectacular 'Punishment Time' is sure to be the highlight of your vacation life! Upupu, I wonder what kind of heart-thumping punishments we'll get to see!"

"What da fuck, man?! Dis ain't fair at all!" Kazumi said. "Dis has ta be a fuckin' joke!"

"A joke? What, like your hair color?" Monokuma asked, pointing at the vocalist's green hair. "Or perhaps you mean like Akamine's getup? If you ask me, they're both a complete joke!"

"Quit fuckin' with me ya little shit!" Kazumi shouted, her hand quickly turning into a fist.

"But you make it so easy!" Monokuma stated. "Plus it's funny to see you get mad! But I swear, none of this is a joke. It's all real."

"Just how are we supposed to figure out the culprit in the first place?" Shigeru said, his usually condescending tone replaced with one of mild fear. Not even someone like him can handle the news that they're trapped and forced to kill so they can leave. "We're not trained for this kind of scenario!"

"Oh that will all come in due time, Kitagawa, I assure you!" Monokuma said. "I gotta leave some things as a surprise, you know? It wouldn't be fun if I spoiled everything for you at the ver beginning!"

"You say that as if we really are going to start killing." Satoshi said, picking up on Monokuma's assumption.

"Oh, believe me. It'll happen eventually!" Monokuma said with glee. "Kids like you always succumb to this kind of despair. It may only take a day, or it could take ten years, but someone will get the itch to kill!"

"Not if we get rid of ya here and now!" Kazumi said. "Yer nothin' but a fuckin' little bear! I'm sure we're enough ta take ya on!"

"Oh, count me in on that action, Kazumi." Ayame said with a smirk. "I'd just love to kick this shithead's face in."

"You would dare to threaten your own headmaster with senseless violence?" Monokuma asked, his head held down in disappointment. "I have to warn you, I'm not as helpless as you think I am. I'm prepared for this kind of disobedience, and I won't hesitate to fight back!"

"Oh yeah? Yer talkin' all big but ya ain't budgin'." Kazumi said, picking up the monochrome bear. "Sounds ta me like an empty threat!"

"Violence towards the headmaster is against the rules, I'll have you know!" Monokuma said, flailing his arms up and down in her grasp. "But I guess the only way to get it into your thick head is to make an example out of you." He began to make slow beeping sounds as his red eye blinked over and over.

"What da fuck is he doin' now?" Kazumi asked, shaking the bear with her hand. The beeping began to speed up. "Stop it with da fuckin' beepin'! It's annoyin' as shit!" She threw the bear to the floor and tried stomping on him to make him stop.

Takara began to dawn on a realization. He had turned himself into a bomb and was going to kill her right there. "Kazumi, throw him away, now! Just do it!" Kazumi was confused, but ultimately did as she was told. She kicked the bear away from the group standing by the front desk and into the larger part of the lobby. The beeping kept getting faster and faster until...

KABOOM

Monokuma exploded, leaving a singe mark on the carpet and a small cloud of smoke. "I guess he wasn't kidding about not being helpless." Naomi said as she pushed her glasses up her face.

"Well, least he went and blew 'imself up." Kazumi said. "Now we don' gotta deal with 'im no more."

"Did you really think it was that easy?" Monokuma's voice asked. Everyone turned around and saw a new Monokuma had spawned on the desk. "I have plenty of backups that are spread around the whole resort, so the fun won't end so soon!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!!! He's back for more! And he's not even a ghost!" Kumiko cried.

"I suppose I'll let you off with a warning this time, Katsuya." Monokuma said. "But next time you try a stupid stunt like that, you'll be a roasted vocalist! Hm, wonder how that'd taste..."

"This isn't happening! This can't be happening!" Ryouta said, shaking his head in his hands. "This is all just a dream I'm having! I'll wake up and be back at home or the school! There's no possible way this is happening!"

"Honestly, you'd think by now that you would all accept the fact that this is your home." Monokuma sighed. "Acceptance is one of the five stages of grief you know, and it's about time you reached it."

"I don't think we've gone through the other four yet though." Hikaru said.

"But this just doesn't seem real." Minoru said. "I have a hard time believing that this is what you want from us. It all feels like some bad dream I can't wake up from."

"I can prove it to both of you that this is no dream!" Monokuma said. He ran over to the florist and veterinarian, and out of his paws came two sets of claws. The bear jumped up to each of them and scratched both of them in the face, causing both boys to shout in pain and clutch their faces. "Is that enough proof for you?"

"Why would you do that to them?!" Shizuka asked. "They didn't do anything to deserve it!"

"If it's infection you're worried about, I can assure you that I have exceptional hygiene!" Monokuma said. "My paws are clean of all potential germs! I'm not just smarter than the average bear, I'm also cleaner!"

"I don't think that's what she meant." Miyako said, still speaking in that monotone voice. Just what would need to happen in order to phase her?! She was like a stone Buddha!

"Just relax, they won't be bleeding. It's just a minor flesh would and nothing more! It should heal by the end of the day!" Monokuma said. Both of the boys moved their hands away from their faces. Takara expected to see long cuts with blood, but there were only red marks. That couldn't be possible, they should've suffered some kind of external damage! "But I should think that this is enough to make you understand. You're all trapped here. And that's that. You can't bargain or bribe me to let you go. I have no compassion, sympathy, or pity. It's because I'm a bear, you see. If you want to leave, all you have to do is get away with murder."

"What do you want out of this?" Masaru asked, his voice cracking. "Why put us through all of this?"

"Hm? You ask me what my goal is?" Monokuma said. He looked straight out over the entire class. "Despair. That's all. Even the youth that represent the hope of the country can fall into despair under the correct circumstances. I want to see what your despair in particulr looks like. How it takes form. What you'll do when overtaken by it. I think that says enough, don't you?"

No one could find the words to speak. Looking around the room, Takara could see that some people were shaking, others were in tears, and others were just frozen with shock. They were all appropriate reactions to this situation. They were stuck in a resort with no way out. The only way anyone could leave is if they committed murder. If the culprit was found out they would be executed, but if they got away with it everyone else would be executed. Just thinking about it made Takara herself want to curl up in a ball and cry, but she had her pride to uphold. Monokuma just laughed, breaking the chilling silence.

"Now then, please enjoy your exciting, gruesome mountainside vacation! See you later!" he said. Finished with his special announcement, Monokuma disappeared behind the front desk, leaving the sixteen students standing in the lobby. Everyone was silent, still too shocked to say anything. Who could blame them? Their whole lives were just turned upside down in an instant. Who wouldn't be shocked in this kind of scenario?

"What do we do now?" Shizuka asked, breaking the silence and drawing all eyes towards her. "I mean, we can't just stand here and do nothing." She was still shaking a little bit and she almost looked like she would be sick. It was a drastic difference from the cheery girl Takara had met in the laundromat.

"A better question is what _can_ we do?" Ryouta asked in a wavering voice. "We can't harm the bear, there's no way to tell anyone we're here, and we have to worry about being killed at any moment now!"

"There, there, Ryouta, calm down." Satoshi said, walking over to the florist and resting a hand on his shoulder. "As long as we don't let Monokuma's words get to us, we'll be alright." Well someone wasn't worried about this. How could he be so relaxed at a time like this? No one could possibly be this optimistic. Ryouta flinched and jerked his shoulder away. Takara assumed that he didn't like to be touched.

"As much as I would love to believe you Mr. Teruya, I do not think we will all make it out of this ordeal alive." Chiyo said with a forlorn expression.

"Oh come on, Chiyo. I doubt anyone here would really be so quick to murder, or that most of us have the guts to do it." Ayame said. "You should try to have some faith in us, even if we all just met."

"I did not mean to imply that I do not have faith in you, Ms. Ishikawa." Chiyo said. "Ever since I awoke here, I have been felt an ominous cloud of death surrounding us. I was not sure why I could sense it at first, but now that we know about this mutual killing game it all makes sense to me."

"What are you saying, Chi-Chi? You don't mean..." Kumiko said, unable to finish. Her eyes were already red and puffy, and Takara thought she could see some tears still dripping down her face.

"I am afraid so." Chiyo stated, her head hung low. "Whether it will be tomorrow, or two weeks from now, people are going to die here."

She couldn't be serious! There was no way! Was someone already planning to kill just to leave here? Takara glanced around the group, looking at everyone there. The other fifteen students had begun to glance at everyone else, suspicion already planted in everyone's minds. Monokuma's words rang out in the journalist's head.

" _Oh, believe me. It'll happen eventually! Kids like you always succumb to this kind of despair. It may only take a day, or it could take ten years, but someone will get the itch to kill!_ "

She began to realize that this wasn't her world anymore. This was a completely new world of Monokuma's design. He wanted murder and despair, and he was going to get it. Because even if Chiyo's abilities were a sham, her words were certain to kick off events far beyond anyone's control. The Vacation of Mutual Killing has begun.

**16 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to write Monokuma is not easy.
> 
> Anyway, even though they're not going to happen for a while now, I'd like to take suggestions for who the first Free Time Events should be spent with! If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to take them!


	5. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Daily Life I

Takara looked at the clock that sat on her nightstand, waking up from a slumber she desperately needed. The numbers 5:45 flashed in green. Great, she slept for four hours when she'd only meant to take a nap. This was turning out to be a horrible day. She sat up in the bed, still finding herself in the hotel room as she stretched out her arms. Her heart sank, she was hoping it had been nothing but a bad dream she was having and could wake up from. But it looked like this was reality. The memories from five hours ago played back in her head. That weird Monokuma thing showing up, the Vacation of Mutual Killing, the explosion, and everything that happened afterwards...

_The silence continued to plague the group of sixteen. Everyone was uncertain about what to do or say next. Not only were they just told they would have to kill each other, but Chiyo had just insisted that there would be death among them. If the air hadn't been tense before, it certainly was now. It felt like hours had passed before. It felt like hours had passed before Shigeru of all people finally spoke up, notifying the others with a clear of the throat._

_"Alright, if we just keep standing here and staring at each other like morons, nothing is going to get done." The composer said. "We're students of Hope's Peak Academy, not common-breed teenagers._

_"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Kaito asked, sweat trailing down his face. "It's not like we can just walk around and act as if nothing's wrong! One of us could be thinking about killing and we wouldn't even know it!"_

_"H-he's right!" Ryouta blurted out as he messed with his tie. "Any one of you may want to kill me right now! I can't trust any one of you!" He glanced from side to side as he spoke and pointed at the group, his whole body shaking. If he was trying to be confident, it was failing._

_"That's exactly why you need to stop acting like idiots and calm down." Shigeru said. "This is what that stupid bear wants from us. To raise suspicion so we can't trust each other. The more paranoid we get, the more likely someone will think to make the attempt, and we could be spending our time in a much more productive manner."_

_"But what about what Chi-Chi said?" Kumiko asked, still down but getting her bouncy attitude back up. "She's never ever wrong about these things! If she says people are gonna die, they're gonna die for sure!"_

_"If anyone here is going to die, it's going to be the one who put us in here." Shigeru said with determination. "I don't know who they think they are, but anyone who tries to kidnap me will pay for it. The most we can do is not constantly look over each other's shoulders and try to make the best of the situation we've been thrown into."_

_"And why do you suddenly care so much about us not dying?" Ayame questioned, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot. "You don't seem like the type who cares too much for people."_

_Shigeru sighed in annoyance. "If we're to escape this stranded resort, then we'll need to work together for it whether we'd like to or not. As much as I'd rather not admit it, I need the rest of you so we can all get out of here." he said._

_"Dat seems kinda messed up if ya ask me." Kazumi said._

_"Well I have to agree with him." Naomi said. "If we want to leave, we'll need to work together to figure out how. But if we're running around and letting paranoia take a hold of us, then nothing will get better."_

_"Finally, someone who understands what I'm trying to say. At least one of you has the brains to listen to my plan." Shigeru said. He seemed to speak his mind without caring who he insulted. If he wasn't careful, he'd be the one Chiyo predicted would die._

_"But where do we even start?" Takara asked. "Most of the resort is blocked off, and the areas we can go to don't seem all that helpful."_

_"And it's not like we can get any information from Monokuma." Shizuka added. "He doesn't seem like the type who'll tell us everything upfront."_

_"Hmph. You all have such little faith." Shigeru said. "We should double around the area, look in all possible locations to see if there's anything that could lead us somewhere. Then at 6:00 we'll meet up in the restaurant to discuss what we found. Is that enough for you simpletons to do?"_

_"I am not certain that everyone is emotionally sound to handle such a task at this moment." Chiyo added, walking over to Shigeru. "While I believe your plan is a good one Mr. Kitagawa, I have no doubt that many people are still shocked from Mr. Monokuma's announcement. And I do not believe my words have helped the situation, I offer my apologies for that. There are also a few people who have yet to examine the rooms we will be staying in. And we certainly do not require six hours to search around the areas that are open to us. I suggest that we should spend the next six hours recuperating from this dreadful news. You may spend this time however you wish, and come six p.m. we will all meet up in the restaurant to go over what we have found, as you suggested."_

_"Fine, whatever." Shigeru scoffed. "Just make sure you're all there by that time." With that, he began to walk towards the revolving door, Naomi shortly following behind him._

_"Geez, I think Shigeru could do with a bit of an attitude readjustment." Minoru said. "He's not gonna get anyone to follow him like that!"_

_"Why don't you take charge then?" Ayame asked. "You'd be a much better leader than Mr. High And Mighty there!" She pointed back to the doors he had just left through._

_"Who, me?" Minoru asked, pointing at himself. He quickly shook his head and arms. "Oh, no, no, no! I couldn't! Besides, I'm sure he'd do a fine job at leading! We just need to give him some time! I don't want to overstep my boundaries and all!"_

_Ayame sighed. "The oldest one here, and he's a complete doormat!" she muttered under her breath._

_"Well, I guess we should get going then." Masaru said. "I know I could use a minute to myself, I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." With that, the patisserie went back up the second floor. Everyone else began to disperse, some went alone, some went in small groups. Takara decided she needed to take a look around the shops, she hadn't really taken the time to look through most of them during her exploration. She'd also need to go to the docks. Monokuma had to have gotten here somehow, and a boat was the only logical answer to her._

_But when she arrived, there wasn't a single boat in sight. Not even a rowboat was docked. But then how did the bear get here? There were no roads leading anywhere as far as she could tell, so that eliminated the possibility of car. And she didn't hear anything like a plane or helicopter landing nearby, so it wasn't possible he came from the air either. She chalked it up under one of the mysteries she'd need to figure out before leaving here._

_Searching the stores didn't do her any good either. All of them were devoid of employees. She checked even the most strange of the stores and found not a single worker. Not even the library or laundromat had anyone there. Just how empty was this place? And how'd they get everyone out before she and the other students arrived? Though she did see that each store was all well stocked with various supplies from food to clothes. Finding a bottle of cola in the convenience store, she took it with her and returned to her room with a heavy heart. She put the cola in the mini-fridge, not feeling all that thirsty to drink it, and just flopped down on her bed. They really were trapped here. Then again, the others might find a way out of here, so it was too early to give up. She had no further way to pass the time aside from look around the rest of her room, so she decided it was best to take a nap._

"I still can't believe this is happening..." Takara said with a heavy sigh.

"Oh, you better believe it is!" A familiar voice said. "I would hate to repeat myself again, you know." Takara turned her head to see none other than Monokuma sitting on the other side of the bed. The journalist jumped up in surprise and backed away from the strange bear.

"What the hell do you want?!" she asked, searching around for something she could defend herself with.

"Who me?" Monokuma asked, trying to act innocent. "Well you see, I remembered that I have a little present for you all that I forgot to give back at my announcement! I've been trying to track you all down so I could deliver it to you properly! Thankfully you stayed in your room like a good little girl so it was easy to find you! You wouldn't believe how long I've spent looking for the others, they don't stop moving! It's like they're mice or something!"

"Forget it." Takara stated. "If you're trying to give me something, then it probably isn't good. You can keep your little gift!"

"Sorry, but it ain't optional!" Monokuma said. "All Hope's Peak Academy students are required to have one for the duration of our stay here!"

Takara groaned. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. "Fine whatever, just hurry up and give it to me." she said disgruntled.

"Seriously, are all of you kids impatient?!" Monokuma said. "You're so used to getting things immediately that you don't bother waiting for the opening act! But fine, here it is!!!" The black and white bear pulled a small card shaped object seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to Takara. Looking at it, it was a little bigger than the room key and was made out of a different material. It also seemed to weigh a slight bit more in her hand. "This is a student handbook for Hope's Peak Academy!" Monokuma explained. "It's completely digital, and contains all the rules of our little vacation! So it's fittingly called...the e-Handbook!"

"But if it's a student handbook, shouldn't we get this at the school instead of at this resort?" Takara asked. She guessed that it would be unlikely that they were even going to the school at this point, but it didn't hurt to ask right? The more she could learn about their situation, the better.

"Trust me, if things had gone as planned, you'd have gotten it here regardless!" Monokuma answered. "Besides, it has other purposes than just showing the rules! It also includes a handy little map of the whole resort, thanks to yours truly! Mess around with it and you're bound to find something interesting!"

"And what happens if I break it?" Takara asked. "Will I get a replacement, or am I screwed?"

"You surely do have the instinct of a reporter, don't you? Asking all the questions you need to figure things out." Monokuma said. "But that question is completely pointless! These nifty things can't break no matter what you do to them. You could even drop a grand piano on it and it'll be kicking! Though they're not completely indestructible, it does have one little weakness. But I'm certainly not telling you that! I don't need you brats going around and breaking them in some move of teenage rebellion against the world or something!"

"So is that all you need? I kinda have to be somewhere right now." Takara said. The sooner she could get away from this bear, the better.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Monokuma said. "Though you should turn the e-Handbook on to make sure it's yours. I may have mixed them up while I was handing them out." He turned around, almost to appear as if he was leaving. "Oh, one last thing. You should really do something about your hair! With that ahoge of yours, people are going to think you're an idiot! Or not. Who knows? That's just my personal opinion!"

"Get out of here already!" Takara shouted, clearly getting irritated by the bear's refusal to leave. Monokuma just laughed as he disappeared behind a corner. It hadn't even been twelve hours, and Takara was already sick of that bear. She began thinking that she would go insane if she had to deal with him for the rest of her life. "Maybe I'll kill someone just to get away from him." she joked, laughing a little.

Realizing it was less than ten minutes until the time everyone was supposed to meet up, she decided it was time for her to make her way towards the restaurant. Pocketing her card key and taking the e-Handbook, which she decided to turn on as she was walking out, she left her room and found Kumiko and Chiyo leaving the room of the latter. The comic artist seemed to pick up that she had left, because she turned around with a dopey smile on her face and jumped over. "Takara! Takara!" she said as she jumped up and down. She seemed to have settled down as much as she could in the past six hours, though it did seem like she was the kind of person who bounced back in no time at all. "You should come with me and Chi-Chi to the restaurant! If there's more of us then we're bound to be leagues safer!"

"...Chi-Chi?" Takara said, confused at what she was talking about. Wait, she'd used that name earlier before they'd all dispersed. She couldn't have meant...

Chiyo giggled as she approached. "She is talking about me." she clarified. "It is a nickname she gave to me when we were children. I did not expect her to use it in front of other people, at least not this fast. I would not be surprised if she gives you a nickname as well, she has already done so with Mr. Miyazaki." She spoke about it all so casually. Perhaps she really was accustomed to Kumiko's strange behaviors. "She is correct though, there is safety in numbers. Two heads are better than one, or rather three heads are better than two as the case may be."

"Well? What do you say? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Kumiko asked, no longer jumping but still moving in place. This girl never stood still.

"I guess you have a point. Plus it isn't too far, so there's nothing to worry about." Takara said with a smile. Kumiko let out a squeal of joy, and it looked like she was about to hug the journalist but was holding herself back. Chiyo just seemed to give an apologetic look. Maybe this was a bad idea.

The entire walk there was filled with Kumiko's nonstop talking about random things. She would just jump from one subject to another. One minute she was talking about okonomiyaki, and the next she was rambling about the existence of aliens that used sushi as an energy source. The look on Chiyo's face seemed to say that this happened all the time. The only thing they could do is bear with it until they made it to the restaurant. Upon reaching it, a delicious scent wafted from the kitchen. Just smelling it silenced Kumiko in the middle of her rant about comic books, causing her to run to the kitchen doors. She joined Kazumi and Ayame in front of the doors, who were both waiting for whatever scrumptious meal would come out of the room. Most of the other students were spread out between a few tables in the center. Aside from the three girls impatiently waiting at the kitchen door, only Masaru and Satoshi were missing. Takara guessed from the smell that Masaru was making something to eat, which meant that-

"Hey there, Kara-chan!" Satoshi's voice came from behind, startling her and making her consider slapping the archaeologist. Why was everyone so insistent on surprising her from behind today?!

"Hi, Satoshi." Takara said, trying her best not to sound irritated.

"Did I startle you or something?" Satoshi asked, sounding sorry as he lowered his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just so excited to see you."

"It's okay, it's okay. You don't need to apologize. But it's only been a few hours since we last saw each other, you know." Takara said. "Why don't we just...sit down with someone and wait for the food."

Satoshi gave off a beaming smile, he was so happy that she wasn't mad at him. "Okay! Whatever you say!" Great, this was just what she needed. This day couldn't get worse. It's not like she hated the archaeologist, but after dealing with Monokuma and Kumiko's chatter, she just wasn't in the mood to deal with his enthusiasm.

The two of them sat down at a table. Arata, Naomi, and Minoru were sitting there. To her surprise, Minoru was already eating something. "Why aren't you waiting for the food?" Takara asked.

"From what I can tell, the meal that's being prepared in the kitchen isn't up to my tastes." Minoru explained. "The thing is, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat animals. It goes against my moral code. When you spend your life trying to heal and save animals, it just doesn't feel right eating them. You know?"

"It only seems fitting that the Super High School Level Veterinarian wouldn't eat animals." Naomi commented with a smirk. "It's like you said, your very talent is healing animals, so eating them would just be out of the question."

"The only exception to my rule is fish, and that's mostly because it's unavoidable in our culture. Everything has fish in it, or at least it feels that way." Minoru admitted, the frown on his face implying he was ashamed of himself.

"Well, I guess we can't change your lifestyle." Satoshi said. "Plus it makes sense and all!"

Looking at the veterinarian, something became clearly noticable. "Hey, your scars from earlier are gone." Takara said, pointing to Minoru's face. The marks from Monokuma's scratching were completely healed, as if they were never there. She glanced over at Ryouta and saw that aside from some barely visible pink marks, his wounds were gone as well.

"It's just like Monokuma said they'd be." Minoru said. "I decided to take a quick nap and when I woke up, they were gone! It's pretty amazing! He wasn't kidding when he said they'd be gone like that!"

"Doesn't your face still hurt though?" Naomi asked, pushing up her glasses and trying to get a better look at him.

"No, not really." Minoru said. "It's not the slightest bit sore. I guess it's weird, but I'm not complaining!" How did he manage to be so unfazed by that?

"Sorry for keeping you guys waiting!" Masaru called out as he emerged from the kitchen. "Dinner is now served! Oh, hi girls! Think you could help me carry these out?"

Ayame, Kumiko, and Kazumi all seemed to answer yes, as they went into the kitchen and came back out holding hamburger steak platters. Aside from Minoru, each person had a hamburger steak sitting in front of them in no time flat.

"I'm not a Super High School Level Chef or anything, but I've been trying to improve making non-pastry dishes and I've been told that they're decent enough. So I hope you enjoy them!" Masaru said, slightly nervous that people wouldn't enjoy the food. The girls sat down beside their own respective friends, some of which seemed to have bonded in the past few hours. Ayame sat next to Hikaru, no surprise there. Kumiko sat next to Chiyo, another no-brainer. And Kazumi sat down next to Shizuka, to the surprise of Takara. They seemed like a bad match, but they probably had something connecting them that Takara couldn't see. It wasn't her place to judge. Masaru sat down at his own table, unable to find any room at the others.

"Yeah yeah, enough talkin' already!" Kazumi shouted impatiently. "I wanna start eatin' dis shit! Thanks fer da food an' all dat shit!"

"Actually, I do believe we have things to be discussing?" Shigeru said, pushing his plate aside and standing up. The vocalist didn't seem to listen though, as she was already digging in. Ayame also had begun to eat, and by the expression on her face, it was a meal that just couldn't wait. Takara began to realize just how hungry she was just watching the two of them eat. The composer's eye seemed to twitch slightly as he growled. "Fine, we'll just begin the discussion without you two. You probably wouldn't have anything useful to contribute anyway. So then, what did you all find out?"

"We all woke up in the recreational room." Minoru began. "From the size of it, it's meant to be used only during special events. Why we were placed in there though, I have no idea. Maybe we were supposed to have the orientation in there or something?"

"Or maybe it was because it was a large enough space to hold us all." Takara suggested. "There was plenty of floor space for us to rest in, and the chairs and tables wouldn't have gotten in the way."

"That could be a possibility." Shigeru said. He was agreeing with her? Maybe he wasn't just a prick after all. But it was still too early to judge anyone here.

"The restaurant here appears to be the only place we can get meals from." Masaru said. "There are plenty of supplies for us to make whatever we like, and we have a large food supply that's sure to last for weeks."

"But what happens when we run out?" Naomi asked. "While there does seem to be some food in the convenience store, it's not enough to last. Especially since there are sixteen of us, some of who are big eaters apparently." She glanced over at the vocalist and football player eating the hamburger steaks.

"Well, Monokuma actually showed up right as I started cooking, and he explained that he'll restock the kitchen and stores with fresh food every other day." Masaru said with a grin. "So we won't have to worry about starving to death!"

"As for the rest of the hotel, there doesn't really seem to be anything interesting. Or at least what we have access to." Ayame said, taking a break from eating. "We do have other areas in here though, including a pool, I just don't know how to get to them."

"Maybe they got locked off because they're hiding a way out!" Satoshi said.

"They were blocked before Monokuma showed up." Miyako stated, speaking up so suddenly that Takara jumped slightly. She'd been so quiet until now that she'd forgotten she was even there. "I don't think he had anything to do with it."

"Well, maybe we'll be able to go to those places at a later date." Shizuka said. "We can only stay entertained for so long with what we have."

"We all have our own hotel rooms, though I guess that was obvious." Ryouta said. "They're incredibly soundproofed, meaning that someone could be killed in their room and no one would hear."

"Are ya always dis paranoid?" Kazumi said, before returning to devouring her food.

"Aside from that, our rooms are perfectly identical and contain the same objects." Arata said, trying to drive the conversation away from darker topics. "The same kind of bed, a bathroom with a shower and bath, a small closet, a miniature fridge, a balcony, and a high-definition TV." Takara realized that she didn't get a better look at the remainder of her room. She had been so overwhelmed that it slipped her mind. She decided that she was going to look at it first thing in the morning.

"The TVs don't work though!" Kumiko said with a pout. "You don't get any channels on 'em and the only thing you can do with it is put in a DVD. But who even brought DVDs?!"

"They might have them for sale in one of the stores." Chiyo said. "It seems as if there is a store for anything and everything down that pathway. Surely one of them holds DVDs."

"There sure are a lot of them." Hikaru added. "I mean, I was able to find a ton of tacky stores that sell knick-knacks for tourists, a place to buy clothes, even a toy store! It's crazy how many shops we got here."

"Speaking of the stores, we have a laundromat among them." Shizuka said. "So we don't have to worry about our laundry piling up. It has plenty of washing machines, and you can either put your clothes in a dryer if you're in a hurry or leave them out to air dry."

"Laundromat? It seems odd that they would use that name in a Japanese resort." Naomi said.

"Actually, this doesn't seem like a Japanese resort." Shizuka said. "It feels more western to me. Especially since there's a good amount of English on the signs. But that's just my thoughts on it."

"There's a botanical garden and a library past the shops." Kaito said. "There's also a dock, but there aren't any boats there so it's pretty useless."

"If there's no boats, then how did Monokuma get here then?" Satoshi asked. "There must be some way he managed to come here."

"Beats me." Kaito sighed. "I'm just as clueless about it as you are."

"I'm sure we'll find out in due time." Takara said. "It can't stay a secret forever."

"What about the garden and the library?" Shigeru asked. "Is there anything of use there? I didn't have the chance to explore the library too thoroughly."

"Well, the garden is pretty much what it says on the box. It's a garden filled to the brim with fancy plants. There's a tool shed and a playground in there as well, but nothing can really help us escape." Kaito said. "As for the library, it's also pretty useless in helping us. Unless one of those books I can't read has information that could be helpful, but that seems more like something Naomi should handle. She is a translator after all."

"I guess I could look around and see what I can find." Naomi said. "It's definitely worth a shot."

"So that's it then. No one has anything else to report that could be remotely helpful?" Shigeru asked. No one spoke at first, everyone was trying to recall if there was anything else worth discussing. Takara figured it was the perfect time to bring up Monokuma's "gift".

"I'm not sure if it's helpful, but it's definitely worth discussion." she said. She pulled out the e-Handbook and showed it to everyone. "A while before I came here, Monokuma came to my room and gave me this. He calls it an e-Handbook. I'm assuming that everyone else was approached by him in the past six hours and given this?"

"That's what he was doing when I asked him about our food supply." Masaru said, having taken out his own. "He mentioned that the rules for the vacation were in here, along with a map. He wouldn't say anything else though."

"Yes, I got one as well." Shigeru said. "I haven't really looked through it though, I've been busy." At this point, everyone had seemed to have their own e-Handbooks out and in their hands. Some people were just turning theirs on for the first time.

"I think we should look through all of these rules at once." Chiyo said. "Mr. Monokuma told me that if we break any of the rules, we will be punished for it."

"Wait, ya mean he'll put us through one of his crazy punishments if we break dese rules?!" Kazumi said, having finished eating. "Son of a bitch!" She slammed her fist against the table.

"Exactly. Hence why we should look through these rules carefully." Chiyo said.

"I agree, we better see what they say before we do something we end up regretting." Takara agreed. Everyone's eyes darted to their own e-Handbooks as they read the rules.

**1\. Students may reside only within the boundaries of the resort. Leaving is an unacceptable use of time.**   
**2\. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.**   
**3\. Sleeping anywhere other than the hotel rooms is forbidden, anyone who is caught in this act will be punished accordingly.**   
**4\. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Paradise Resort at your discretion.**   
**5\. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras and monitors.**   
**6\. Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered. Those who graduate will be allowed to leave the resort.**   
**7\. In the event of a murder among the student body, students will be given the chance to discover who they suspect the culprit is.**   
**8\. Failure to identify the culprit will be considered a violation of the school rules. In this event, all students except the culprit shall be executed.**   
**9\. After three people first discover a body, a "body discovery announcement" will be played throughout the whole resort.**   
**10\. Additional rules may be added as necessary.**

"Well this is a bunch of 'Super High School Level Bullshit'." Ayame said. "What kind of rules are these?!"

"I agree that these rules are kind of...unorthodox," Minoru said. "But if we want to survive then we have to follow them. We don't have much of a choice, after all."

"At least we're allowed to explore without that tacky looking bear stopping us." Arata said. "The only things that seem to place limits on us are the blocked off areas and the Nighttime rule. And it would seem that the latter only applies to specific locations."

"It's not listed in here, but during Nighttime the water to the showers and stuff gets turned off. Oh, and the laundromat!" Minoru said. "Monokuma told me so when he gave me the e-Handbook, so I figured now was the time to bring it up."

"So we can't bathe or wash our clothes at night. That's good to know, I guess." Takara said.

"Hey, I think we should put our own rule into place here." Satoshi said.

"And just want kind of idiotic rule are you suggesting here?" Shigeru asked.

"Well, it's concerning Nighttime. I was thinking that during those hours, we should stay in our hotel rooms no matter what." The archaeologist suggested. "I'm not an expert or anything when it comes to murder, but I have the feeling that some of us will get paranoid. We might think someone will come in our sleep to kill us. If we agree to stay in our rooms until 7 a.m. then we don't have to worry about a midnight murder! It's totally optional though, but it's still best to agree to it ya know?"

"That's not a bad idea, Satoshi." Takara said. "I say we go for it." Satoshi smiled at the journalist, he seemed way too happy that she agreed with him. She hoped he wasn't letting the praise go to his head.

"Fine. Does anyone have a problem with this?" Shigeru asked. No one spoke out against it, silently agreeing that it was a solid idea. "Alright, so we don't leave our rooms once Nighttime begins. Anything else?"

"Oh, I got something!" Shizuka said, raising her hand. "Well, I just thought every morning, we should come here to the restaurant to meet up at breakfast. If we find anything new we can bring it up to the group. And if someone isn't the sociable type and doesn't want to stay around for breakfast, then they can just pop their head in so we know that nothing's happened to them in the past twenty-four hours. Not that I'm suggesting one of us is going to kill someone that is. It's just better to be safe than sorry!"

"That seems reasonable to me." Naomi said. "What do you think, Shigeru?"

Shigeru paused in thought, going over the painters suggestion. "I guess it works. So those are our two unofficial rules. Nothing will happen if anyone breaks them, like if one of the bear's rules does, but I still expect that they be followed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, your highness." Ayame said in a half-mocking voice. A few of the other students laughed at the nickname, Takara included. For a moment, it felt as if nothing was wrong. They were all acting like a group of high school students on vacation together. It made her think that if this kind of behavior kept up, it would be months before anyone considered murder. Perhaps Chiyo was wrong after all. The rest of the evening was spent among one another. As Masaru's hamburger steaks (which truly were delicious) were eaten, everyone was conversing with each other and talking about themselves. Even long after the food was gone, they were all still laughing and socializing without a care in the world. It was moments like this Takara wished would last forever.

No one was even keeping track of the clock. As 9 p.m. seemed to roll on by, people began to head to their rooms for the night in small groups. Masaru stayed behind to finish up the last of the dishes as Takara, Miyako, Kaito, and Satoshi finally left. The way back to their rooms was mostly uneventful, though Kaito's attempts to flirt with Miyako were hilarious to watch. Not even flirting was able to pierce through the lucky girl. Upon making it to the hallway, the four of them split up and said good night as they entered their rooms. Takara changed out of her clothes and put on the first pair of pajamas she could find. It was too close to the night hours, so she decided to save her shower for tomorrow.

As she fell on top of her bed, ready to fall asleep, a sound came from the monitor that hung on the wall to her left. The image changed to show Monokuma in what appeared to be a hotel room of his own. In his hand was a fruity looking drink with a paper umbrella in the glass. Takara wasn't sure if she was seeing things correctly, but she could have sworn that he was relaxing in a hot tub of sorts. "Ahem, to all of the patrons staying at our lovely Paradise Resort, it is now 10 p.m! It is officially nighttime!" he began, his voice reminding her that this was no ordinary situation she was in. "The stores will close and the restaurant doors will be locked momentarily. I hope you all have sweet dreams tonight!" On that note, the monitor shut off, leaving Takara in a quiet room.

Looking towards the glass door that served as her window, she could only see the starry night sky. If it were any other situation, she would have found the sight beautiful, but as it was it only served to remind her that everything had turned upside down. She couldn't go home, and she couldn't even call her family. She began to wonder if they were alright, or if they were worried about her. With thoughts of home in her head, Takara went under the covers and turned off the lamp next to her. Hopefully her dreams wouldn't be filled with horrific images that night.

**16 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, free time events start up next chapter! Leave suggestions for who you want to see Takara spend time with!


	6. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Daily Life II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, since no one made any votes for free time events, I chose the one on this part on my own. Suggestions for the remaining free time events are still being accepted though. Another thing about these FTE chapters is that they'll sometimes include scenes seen from another character's point of view. I'm also going to be using them for instances when Takara is gonna be busy or doing something uninteresting for a while, such as here with her shower. I just want to let you all see things and character's from someone else's point of view, just to mix things up a bit. I hope you enjoy them!

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!"

The sound of Monokuma's wake-up call aroused Takara from her sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up to the sounds of his voice, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Sunlight shined in through the glass door, the beginning of a new day greeting her. If she had to be honest with herself, she would have preferred to go back to sleep. Maybe catch a few more hours or so of shut-eye. But they had all made a promise to meet up at breakfast, and she didn't want anyone to come searching for her. So it was out of her pajamas, into a new set of clothes, and out the door towards the restaurant. There were a few people standing around in the hallway and the lobby as she made her way over. She couldn't help but notice Ryouta sulking around and giving her a nasty glare, and Shizuka was standing around looking like she was about to fall back to sleep. Must've been a rough night for her. As much as she wanted to socialize, Takara instantly made her way into the restaurant where some people were already waiting.

If the smell was anything to judge by, Masaru was once again in the kitchen making something. The other who were already there seemed to be more spread out than they had been last night. Naomi and Shigeru were sharing a table, talking about something that Takara couldn't pick up. Minoru was sitting alone, eating his own meal already. Probably didn't want to take the chance that Masaru's food wasn't vegetarian friendly. Hikaru was sitting down next to Ayame, who didn't look like she enjoyed being woken up as early as she had been. Finally, Chiyo was sitting by herself and drinking a glass of tea. She decided to sit down by Chiyo, it was her chance to enjoy her company before Kumiko bounced in and talked her mouth off.

The medium seemed pleased to see Takara sitting down beside her and gave her a welcoming smile. The two of them sat in silence as the others began to pile in slowly. The people Takara saw on her way were the first to enter. Ryouta sulked his way towards a table where he could be alone, but not too far away from the group as a whole. Shizuka, who still looked terrible, walked in with a tired looking Kazumi behind her. The two of them sat at the table next to Takara and Chiyo, and the vocalist's head instantly dropped on top of the table.

"Are you alright, Ms. Matsuki?" Chiyo asked with concern. "I do not mean to offend, but you look terrible. Did you have problems sleeping?"

"I didn't have a well night's sleep." Shizuka said groggily. "I was having terrible nightmares all night long, and I had problems going back to sleep."

"If you would like, I shall go fetch a cup of tea to help ease you." Chiyo offered.

Shizuka weakly smiled. "Thanks Chiyo, but I don't want any." she said. "I'll probably just try taking a nap later or something."

"If that is what you wish, I shall respect it." Chiyo said. "But the offer will remain open throughout this morning."

Miyako walked into the restaurant and took a seat beside Minoru. Takara couldn't even tell how she was feeling. That girl was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Arata and Kaito were laughing amongst themselves as they entered, sitting down with Shigeru and Naomi. Finally, Kumiko and Satoshi walked in and immediately came to their table upon seeing Chiyo and Takara respectfully. The two both sat down immediately beside the person of their attention. Kumiko started chatting away almost immediately. How could someone have so much energy this early in the morning?

"Hey everyone!" Masaru's voice called out of the kitchen. Everyone looked over at the kitchen entrance, ready to hear what he had to say. "I am pleased to inform you that breakfast is served! I hope you like eggs, because I decided to try my hand at omelets!" He brought out a cart filled with food, each plate having an omelette sitting on top of it. There was also a bowl of rice and two slices of toast to go with the main course. "I've never tried making them before, so they might not be the best." The patisserie said nervously as he sat down each plate.

"You know Masaru, if you ever need help making something then you can let me know." Shizuka said, trying her best not to sound tired. "I may not look like it but I'm a pretty good cook, you know."

"Are you sure about that?" Masaru asked. "It's not that I'm doubting you, but I woke up a bit early so I could make these. I mean, you seem really tired and everything so I'm not about to make you get up just to make food for everyone."

"No, no, it's fine!" Shizuka insisted. "I've been making most of the meals around my house for years, so it's nothing that I'm not used to. And I don't care if I have to wake up early, honest."

Masaru looked uncertain, but seemed to be contemplating her offer. "Well, I guess if I don't think I can handle it then I'll keep it in mind." he said. "But you really shouldn't worry about me that much."

"I happen to enjoy that quality in a woman." Kaito said, appearing to have materialized at the table. Oh great, he was flirting again. How was this going to play out? "To find someone who cares so much for the people around her, it's simply divine. Such kindness is seldom found these days, wouldn't you agree Shizuka?"

The painter was uncertain how to react. Her face seemed to be flushing pink. "I um, well, that is.." she tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come. She seemed embarrassed by all of this.

"Oh my, is the young lady flustered?" Kaito said, unaware of Shizuka's discomfort. "Perhaps I can fix that for you, if you would allow me a moment of your time?"

Before Shizuka could answer, Kazumi's head shot up from off of the table. Ignoring the food in front of her, she instantly got up and placed herself between the painter and the animator. She gave him a death glare and looked him straight in the eyes. "Alright, I don' got time for this shit so early in the mornin' but listen up, shrimp. I don' know what kinda game you're playin', but ya better back off and leave Matsuki alone, ya got it? Or else I'm gonna hafta kick yo ass so hard, you'll need ta spend at least a week in da hospital ta recover!" she said in intimidation. Kaito didn't even bother responding to the threat. All he could do was nod his head quickly and rush back to his table in fear. Looking over at him, Takara could swear he was shaking.

"Well, I guess I don't want to mess with you two, huh?" Satoshi said, half-jokingly.

"Damn straight ya don'!" Kazumi said as she sat back down. "That fuckin' prick won' be buggin' ya anymore, Matsuki. Word of advice though, ya gotta be more assertive in situations like dat. I can't fight all yer battles for ya."

"Sorry, I'm just not really awake enough to deal with that sort of thing..." Shizuka said with a yawn. "Thanks for helping me though, Kazumi."

"It was no problem, ya don' need ta thank me for dat kinda thing." Kazumi said before noticing the plate of eggs in front of her. With no time to waste, she began stuffing her face full of food.

The rest of the meeting was pretty uneventful. Since nothing had happened in the past nine hours, there was nothing to report. A few people ate their food as quickly as they could and left. It seemed that there were indeed people who didn't want to be around others for too long. While some people socialized afterwords, most people left once they finished their food, Takara herself included. By the time she left, at least half of the students had cleared out. With nothing else to do, she went back to her room. It was about time she took a shower.

She looked into the bathroom, and just as she had been told it was more western styled than she expected. On the right side of the room was the shower and bathtub, while the toilet was in the middle. On the left side was the sink, which had a large mirror above it. Next to the door was a rack of towels, each of them clean and unused. She grabbed a towel off the rack and left it near the side of the shower. Going over to the sink, she found a small notice written by hand. It had to have been made by Monokuma, the hotel wouldn't leave such an unprofessional notice lying around. She picked it up and made sure to read it carefully.

_Attention students! All water supply in the bathrooms is turned off at nighttime, so don't go trying to wash off any blood you get on you that way! Areas such as the laundromat also have the water turned off during this time. You should also know that your showers already come with bottles of soap and shampoo, courtesy of Paradise Hotel! The doors to the bathrooms can also be locked, but only from the inside! With that, I hope you have an exciting time here on our Vacation of Mutual Killing! - Headmaster Monokuma_

"Headmaster my ass." Takara mumbled. She began to wonder what happened to the real Hope's Peak headmaster, the one who had left the note for them, Jin Kirigiri. Was he in cahoots with Monokuma? Or was Monokuma just using the title of headmaster for his own goals? And how could she find out? There was no way the stupid bear was going to answer her truthfully. None of this was making any sense to her. Maybe if they could find a way out of here, everything would make sense? There was nothing she could do about it right now though. She decided she would explore around the resort and see what she could gather on her own. She was allowed to explore with few limitations after all. A journalist like herself could always get to the bottom of things if they made the effort to, that was her motto. Making her decision, she finally decided to jump into the shower. She just hoped that Monokuma wasn't peeping on her in the process.

\---------------------------

"You know, I could make you look just as stunning in animated form as you do in real life." Kaito said, trying to launch a killer line at Naomi. The translator blankly stared at him for a moment before letting out a laugh. Kaito was confused, that should have made her swoon! What was going on? "Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"How do I put this nicely?" Naomi said as she pushed her glasses back up. "Well for one, you're not my type, love. Secondly, you're going to have to do better than that if you're going to try and win someone over." But that was such a good line! He knew it was! Why was Kaito so unlucky? "Better luck next time though." Trying to give him a supportive pat on the shoulder, the translator walked into the library. Probably to look through those books to see if anything could be useful.

Kaito sighed as he walked back to the hotel. Great, he managed to strike out with five girls now. True, he never tried to flirt with Kazumi but after what happened this morning, he was too scared to approach her. What was he doing wrong? How come he couldn't get a single girl in this place to give him a chance? He decided to stop at the convenience store, surely there was a large bag of chips he could take or something. He needed something to eat right now. Walking inside, he saw Hikaru looking through the energy drinks. Figures he would be grabbing one of those to give him energy.

Wait a minute, that's it! Hikaru got tons of girls to fawn over him, maybe he could tell him what he needed to fix! "Yo, Hikaru!" Kaito called out to the track runner.

Hikaru turned his head, surprised that someone was calling him. "Oh, hey man!" he said. "Good to see you! Did you need something from me or whatever?"

Kaito rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah uh, I kinda do." he said. "It's something I want to talk about, man to man."

Hikaru let out a hearty laugh, and pat the animator on the back. "You don't have to be nervous about it or anything! You can just talk to me!" he said with a huge grin. "Just go ahead and ask me already. I'm no good at touchy-feely stuff just so you know."

"It's nothing like that, don't worry." Kaito said. "So, what I want to ask you is, can you teach me how to pick up chicks?"

Hikaru looked confused for a moment. "Chicks?" he repeated. "I would think you'd pick them up in your hands or something. It's not that hard." Holy shit this guy was dense. What did girls see in him?

"No, no, not those kind of chicks!" Kaito said. "I'm talking about girls! I want to know how to get girls to like me!"

"Ohhh, girls!" Hikaru said. "Why are you asking me about them?"

Kaito didn't think someone could be this stupid. He didn't think someone athletic was actually an idiot, he just assumed that was a bad stereotype. He didn't speak his thoughts out loud though, Hikaru had muscles and he didn't want to risk getting hit with them. "Because you have tons of girls who like you!" he said. "And I want to get girls to like me. I'm not super famous or anything. And believe it or not, being an animator doesn't get you that many girls fawning over you."

"Well I'm not the dude to ask about this." Hikaru said, finally taking an energy drink out. "I don't know what I'm doing to get girls to like me. Besides, I'm pretty sure none of the girls here are throwing themselves at me. Pretty sure some of them think I'm a joke or something."

"What about Ayame though?" Kaito asked. "The two of you seem pretty close and junk. Doesn't that mean something?"

"What, me and Ayame?" Hikaru asked, shocked at the question. "No, no, man. The two of us are just buddies. Fellow athletes and all that jazz. We just like talking about sports and shit, we're not a couple."

"Then why are you blushing?" Kaito asked, a smirk on his face.

"Am I blushing?" Hikaru asked. "I don't know why that is. I mean, Ayame's nice and all but I'm not looking for anyone right now. Anyway, I guess if you want to get girls, you should just be yourself or whatever. I know it sounds cliche, but it's a lot better than if you try dropping those lines like you've been doing."

"But don't girls like to be complimented?" Kaito asked. "One of my older brothers told me that if you make a girl feel good then she'll like you."

"I'm not an expert on it, but I think complimenting and what you're doing are two totally different things."Hikaru explained. "Like I said, just try being yourself, and not some kind of Casanova. Girls are weird and they all act differently, but I'm sure one of them's gotta like you if you stop making a fool of yourself."

"You really think so?" Kaito asked.

"Well yeah, I don't do anything special after all." Hikaru said. "Just be cool and it'll all work out fine."

"I guess I can try that." Kaito said as he grabbed a bag of chips. "Hopefully it works, because I'm kinda desperate here."

"Why's that?" Hikaru asked.

"It's a personal thing, don't worry about it." Kaito shrugged it off. "Guess I'll see you later then." He walked out of the convenience store, leaving behind a confused Hikaru.

"That was weird." The track runner said as he left.

\-------------------------------

"Glad I got away from him while I could." Naomi muttered to herself as she entered the library. "That boy just doesn't give up." She walked over to the first shelf of books she noticed, ready to scan the titles in hopes of finding something useful. They weren't kidding when they said there were a lot of different languages. While there were a few that she couldn't understand, she was able to read most of them with ease. "Well then, no point in standing around here. Time to dig in and see what we got here!"

She skimmed the spines of each book, hoping to find something they could use. Escape Tactics, How To Make A Boat, anything along those lines would be helpful so long as it could help them leave. She certainly didn't want to be stuck here for the rest of her life, no matter how nice this resort was. It was only a matter of time before someone snapped. No matter how much the others wanted to prevent that, she knew that it would happen. Humans were just like that. They couldn't change, no matter how hard they tried. People didn't change...

"Are you having any luck?" A voice snapped Naomi out of her thoughts. Standing next to her was Shigeru. She didn't remember hearing him come in, when did he get here?

"Oh, um, no. I just started actually." Naomi answered. "Though I have a lot of books to look through, so who knows? It could take me days to find something." She laughed a little, hoping that he would joke around with her.

"Well we don't have that much time, do we?" Shigeru said. So much for sharing a laugh. "You and I both know that murder is unpreventable from this point on. All we can do is delay it until we can leave. So the sooner you find something the better."

"I know. But there are a lot of books, and it could take me a while before I even find something. I am working on my own here." Naomi said.

"Do you want some help?" Shigeru asked. That was unexpected. He seemed like the type who didn't offer help to anyone, so why was he going out of his way like this?"

"I don't know." Naomi said, trying to sound indifferent. "Do you know any foreign languages? Because if you don't, I'm afraid you're wasting your time."

"I do know English." Shigeru answered. "I also know some French, though I'm still learning. But I'm pretty sure it's enough to look through these books."

"And why are you offering to help in the first place?" Naomi asked. "I thought you didn't care about us."

"I don't." Shigeru stated rather bluntly. "But if this will help us get the hell out of here faster, then I'm willing to make sacrifices." He didn't need to make it out like it's something horrible. "Besides, I can actually stand you."

Naomi paused for a second because what did he just say? "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Most of the others here are complete idiots." Shigeru explained. "It's a miracle they were accepted to Hope's Peak Academy in the first place if you ask me. You on the other hand, seem to know what you're doing and the severity of this situation. The only other people who seem to be taking this seriously is that Takara girl and maybe Minoru. Everyone else though is wasting their time. We don't need to make friends or have fun, that's just going to bite them hard later once the killing game starts."

"Is there a reason you're calling it a game?" Naomi asked.

"Because that's what the stupid bear wants it to be." Shigeru explained. "Assuming we can figure out who killed who every time, it'll get to a point where only one person is left and that person will be the winner. And if we can't guess the killer, then they win and the rest of us lose. It's all a game to him, and he's hoping we'll play it. I wouldn't be surprised if he gives us reasons to kill someone, some people here seem too soft to kill anyone."

"And what about you? Are you going to try and kill someone to escape?" Naomi asked. She was genuinely curious.

"If the time comes where I have to, then I will." Shigeru said. "I'm not about to get my hands dirty without good reason to. I'm not an idiot."

"You're an interesting person, you are." Naomi said. "I bet a psychologist would have fun getting in your head."

"So will you let me help you or not?" Shigeru asked. He was clearly getting irritated again.

"You know what? Sure." Naomi said. "Go look at the other end of this shelf and look through the books you can read." Shigeru didn't respond and just walked over to the other end. There was something he was hiding, and the translator knew it. All she had to do was get closer to him and crack open his head. Not literally of course. Perhaps this "game" would be interesting after all.

\--------------------------

"Ahhhh, I needed that shower." Takara said as she fell on top of her bed in relief. She hadn't had a shower like that in ages. Quickly getting dressed, she glanced around the room. She noticed a second nightstand at the other side of the bed. She never noticed that before, though it wasn't impressive. It had another lamp identical to the one on the opposite side, but instead of a clock there was a phone. Could it be? Would she be able to reach her parents back home? She rushed over to the nightstand, noticing another paper sitting there. It was another one of Monokuma's notices. She didn't want to read it, but it had to be of some importance if it was here.

_Attention! All phone service is limited to the areas around the resort! You may only call other hotel rooms, places such as the front desk, or anywhere else that just happens to have a phone. If this is an inconvenience, too bad! You have to deal with what you're given! A directory of numbers is located in the drawer of the nightstand. Enjoy your phone service!_

This one wasn't even signed. The more and more she interacted with this bear, the more Takara despised him. So much for that glimmer of hope. With nothing better to do in her room, as the TV truly didn't get any channels just like Kumiko said, she decided that she should look around, maybe spend time with someone. She thought to herself who she should spend time with. She knew that Shizuka was probably taking that nap, so she was out of the question. People like Ryouta and Miyako probably didn't want to talk with her, so she had to scratch them out. Naomi was probably busy looking through those books, so no point in finding her. Everyone else that was left was too much to choose from. She just decided that she'd hang out with the first person she could find.

Turns out that was harder than she thought. The first person she ran into happened to be Ryouta, who told her to mind her own business when she simply looked at him. That boy had some serious issues. Upon going outside, she found Miyako, who was wearing her hoodie despite the fact that it was incredibly hot out. Miyako looked at her indifferently and walked back inside. Couldn't she find someone who liked her?

"Oh, hello there Ms. Tsukuda. Good afternoon." Chiyo said as she came across the journalist. Well, this was someone who liked her. Surprisingly, Kumiko was nowhere to be found. This couldn't be more perfect.

"Hey, Chiyo." Takara said. "Are you doing anything right now?"

"I am not." Chiyo answered. "I was just on my way to go view the botanical garden, and it would be a pleasure if you would join me."

"Sure, I'll come." Takara said. "I don't have any plans right now either."

"Splendid. Let us be on our way then." Chiyo said with a smile. Takara had to admit, Chiyo wasn't that bad of a person. Sure, the journalist still doubted the legitimacy of her talent, but that was no reason to shy away from her. She had to wonder though, why was someone so reserved such as herself friends with someone as wild and crazy as Kumiko in the first place?

"Say, Chiyo, what's with you and Kumiko?" she asked as they entered the garden. "I mean, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but it just doesn't seem like you two would be a good match as friends. At least to me that is."

"It is fine, I was expecting to be asked about that at some point or another." Chiyo said. "Well, it started when we were both children. We both lived in the same small town at the time, and there was only one elementary school. We just happened to be in the same class. She was just as energetic back then as she is now, and she did not exactly know how to make friends properly. Most people thought she was scary because she yelled so much, though they could not have known that she was unaware of the yelling. As for myself, our other classmates also thought I was kind of scary, as I could see ghosts back then at a young age. We were both outcasts you could say. Then one day, she approached me.

"She was much more blunt at the time, so she called me the "freaky ghost girl" without knowing that it was rude. She asked if I would be her friend because no one else would. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, and so we became friends. She did not care that I saw spirits, she actually thought it was rather amazing. A few years after we met though, her family had to move away due to her father getting a job transfer. We promised to keep in touch though, and have written many letters over the years. I did not have the chance to tell her of my acceptance into Hope's Peak Academy before the day came, so I can only imagine how excited she was to see me when we awakened in the recreational room."

"Huh, didn't think you two were that close." Takara said. "You two are lucky then. Not many people in Hope's Peak get to meet people from the past, after all."

"Though I suppose in our current circumstances, we are not as lucky as we should be." Chiyo said.

"Speaking of that, you told me that some of us were going to die, right?" Takara said. "You're supposed to know who will die and when, aren't you? So do you think you can tell me who's gonna die?"

"Alas, I am afraid I can not in this instance." Chiyo said. "If it were only one or two people, then perhaps I could, but many of us are going to meet a terrible fate from what I can sense. So I do not know just who will die."

"Oh. I see." Takara said. "Is this the first time you've felt this much dark energy or whatever it is?"

"No. This would be my second." Chiyo said.

"Mind if I ask what that first time is?" Takara said as she fiddled with her dark red hair.

"Well, Kumiko and I used to have a second friend when we were young. He was kind and fun to be around, but he was not the most healthy person." Chiyo began. "There were quite a few days where he had to miss school because of his illness. But he always managed to have a smile when we came to see him after school ended. After Kumiko moved away, it was just the two of us. We grew closer and closer, and for a time I believed that he was getting better. The days he had to stay home had become less frequent. But unfortunately, it was not to last.

"His condition worsened one day. It was so bad that he had to be driven straight to the hospital for treatment. I visited him as often as I could, and Kumiko would send gifts for me to give to him when I told her about his situation. He kept telling me he would get better, and I believed him every time he told me. But he did not get better, and one day we were told that he was not going to make it. I had not visited him in some time, as my work as a medium had began to take time away from that, so I wanted to see him one last time."

Chiyo's eyes became teary. This obviously wasn't easier to remember. "He had been moved to a different wing of the hospital, and there were very many sick patients there. Just walking through that wing I could sense it. Many of those patients would not be around for much longer, him included. I do not know what was worse, walking through that wing knowing so many people were going to die, or going to see him for the last time. He looked awful, but he tried to tell me that he would get better just like he always did. I believed him of course, not because I wanted to, but because the air of death was so strong there that I believed it might not be connected to him. I continued to tell myself that he would be alright, but..."

She stopped telling her story, Takara could hear the sound of whimpers coming from the medium. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Chiyo tried to smile through the tears. "Do forgive me. This is not the easiest subject for me to discuss." she said. "I cared about him a lot, so it is not easy for me to speak about his death."

"No, it's not your fault." Takara said, placing her hand on Chiyo's shoulder for comfort. "The loss of someone you love isn't an easy thing to talk about, I get that. I'm sorry I made you talk about it."

"Do not apologize, Ms. Tsukuda." Chiyo said. "You did not know, so it is not as if you intentionally opened a wound. Besides, I feel a little bit better talking to someone about it. I can not ignore or hide the pain after all, that will only make it worse in the long run."

"Still, if I knew it was that depressing..." Takara said. "You know what, let's not talk about stuff like that right now. We're here to enjoy the garden! Let's not let some sad memories ruin the beauty of it!"

"I suppose you are right." Chiyo said as she wiped away her tears. "We should not soil this place with thoughts of negativity. Besides, as I said there is no way to know when the first death is going to occur. We should enjoy this time of peace while we have it."

"Yeah, I agree." Takara said. "You need a tissue or something? I think I have some on me."

"Thank you for the offer, but I must decline." Chiyo said. "I believe the tears are done with anyway. Shall we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, I think we should." Takara said.

The two of them spent the afternoon talking about a manner of different topics, such as their talents and home lives. Takara figured that the two of them had become closer to each other from their talk. Hopefully Kumiko didn't think she was stealing her friend away or something. Before they knew it, hours had passed by and the sun was setting. The two of them walked back to the hotel before making their separate ways. Grabbing something to eat over in the convenience store, as she didn't feel like going to the kitchen and making something there, she picked up some instant ramen and went back to her room. It hadn't even felt like ten minutes before she finished eating and the nighttime announcement played, signaling the end of the day.

It was an uneventful day, but Takara didn't mind that. There were no interruptions from Monokuma, and nothing happened to require a corpse discovery announcement, whatever that even was. It felt as if they were all on a real vacation. As she drifted off to sleep, Takara hoped for more days like today.

**16 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	7. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Daily Life III

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m., and nighttime is officially over!" Monokuma's voice awakened Takara immediately. That stupid announcement was already getting annoying and it had only been the second time she heard it. Then again, it was probably Monokuma's voice itself that was getting annoying. She began to think she'd be unable to bear it if she had to stay here for the rest of her life. Without a moment to spare, she put on a fresh set of clothes and walked out the door. She didn't find anyone standing around on her way towards the restaurant this time around, except for Miyako who was just staring at some book she was reading, making it an uneventful walk. There were a few people already inside when she made it there. To her surprise, Masaru was sitting down eating his own meal instead of cooking.

"Hey, you aren't making breakfast this morning?" she asked as she approached the table he was sitting at.

Masaru let out a nervous laugh. "Nah, I didn't really have any ideas on what to make this morning." He answered. "Besides, I figured it would do everyone good to make their own breakfast once in a while. If you want, I can show you where everything is and how to use the equipment."

"Thanks, but I think I'm just going to have toast or something this morning." Takara said. "I'm not really hungry this morning for some reason."

Masaru just smiled. "Alright, suit yourself. Just let me know if you change your mind." he said.

"Will do!" Takara said, walking towards the kitchen. She suddenly realized that the kitchen was the only area she hadn't explored yet. After all, it was locked when she was looking around earlier.

Pushing open the doors, she was greeted by the sight of a shining silver kitchen, filled with what looked to be the latest in cooking technology. The place was nearly spotless, and quite huge. She wasn't the only person in there, as a few people were also making their own breakfast meals. Near the back of the room at the fridge was Minoru, looking around inside for something Takara couldn't see. Over at one of the stoves was Shizuka, wide awake unlike yesterday, making something that was filling the room with a mild scent and occasionally glancing at a large book next to her. She wasn't sure, but Takara thought it was some kind of meat. Leaning against one of the counters was Kazumi, two plates beside her already filled with eggs and pancakes. There were also two mugs next to the plates, and as Takara got closer she could tell from the smell that it was hot chocolate.

"Ya can look, but don' touch." Kazumi said with a smirk. "I've been waitin' too long for my food ta let ya take it from me."

"Calm down, Kazumi," Shizuka said, still focused on her cooking. "I doubt that Takara's going to take any of our food. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do that."

"Still, ya can't be too careful 'bout these kinda things." Kazumi said. "Besides, I really wanna taste yer food! If you're as good a cook as ya claim, I need ta know dat."

"You're forgetting that I'm not used to making this kind of Western breakfast." Shizuka said. "Sure, I know how to do eggs, but these pancakes and bacon aren't something I've done before. I'm just glad there's so many cookbooks around here, otherwise I'd have no idea what I'm doing!" Takara glanced over at the stove, seeing thin strips of meat sizzling in the pan.

"Even so, I'm just here to make some toast, that's all." Takara said. "I just need the bread, butter, and the toaster and I'll be set."

"You sure that's going to be enough?" Shizuka asked.

"I'm not that hungry." Takara said, restating what she had already told Masaru.

"Well, take some of this bacon at least." Shizuka said. "I think I made too much of it for Kazumi and myself..." Takara wanted to say that Kazumi would probably eat however much would be put in front of her, but with the vocalist standing right next to her she kept it to herself.

"Alright, let me just grab a plate." Takara said.

"The dishes are in da cabinet up here." Kazumi said, pointing above her. She moved out of the way, allowing the journalist to open it up and grab the first plate she saw. Shizuka turned off the stove and grabbed a set of tongs, taking four pieces of bacon and setting it down on the plate before putting the rest on her and Kazumi's plates.

"The bread and butter can be found in the fridge there." Shizuka said as she began to clean up. "The toaster is on the other counter on the opposite side of the room. There's a cupboard over by the fridge with all kinds of other foods, and there's also a huge walk-in freezer. If you don't mind helping me, could you put the rest of this bacon back in there for me?" She held the half-empty package of bacon in her hand, allowing it to be grabbed.

"Sure, no problem." Takara said as she took the bacon.

"Thanks! You're a real help, Takara!" Shizuka smiled. "There's a dishwasher near the ovens, so just put everything in there when you're finished." She even walked over with her own dishes in hand to show her where it was. "Don't worry about running it, Masaru said he's going to take care of it after we're all done eating."

"Can ya hurry it up, Matsuki? I'm gettin' hungry over here!" Kazumi said impatiently, her plate and mug in hand as she stood by the door.

"Oh right! Sorry, Kazumi!" Shizuka said, a tiny hint of distress in her voice. "That should be everything then. That bacon should just be placed with the rest of the meat. There should be a few other bacon packages in there, so just put it with those. I'll see you later then, bye!" The painter grabbed her own food and went to join Kazumi. As the two girls left, Arata walked in, followed by Naomi.

"Well, guess I'll just be putting this away." Takara said.

"Actually, do you think I could have that?" Naomi asked. The translator had dark circles around her eyes, yet she didn't seem that tired. "I've been dying to have a full breakfast for a long time now, and I have a feeling this kitchen can provide me with all the things I need for it."

"Oh, sure. Knock yourself out." Takara said. She had no idea what a "full breakfast" was supposed to be, but she wasn't about to question it. She just wanted to make her toast and go.

"Thanks!" Naomi said. "I just hope I can remember what I need to make for one. Oh well, it'll come back to me soon enough." She took the bacon from the journalist's hands and made her way around the kitchen. Takara hoped that there would be no more interruptions, she really wanted her food right now. As Minoru walked away from the fridge with a drink in hand, Takara looked inside for the bread and butter, taking them and walking over to the other counter. Not only was it where the toaster was, but there were other cooking devices there as well. There was a microwave, a waffle iron, a deep frier, and even more that just didn't interest her. She put the bread in, started the toaster, and waited a couple of minutes for the toast to pop out. She spread the butter over it, put her knife in the dishwasher, and went back out into the restaurant.

Everyone seemed to be there at that point. There were a few who were missing, but Takara did recall hearing people entering and exiting the kitchen while she was making her food so she assumed the rest were still in there. Searching for a place to sit (preferably away from Satoshi), she saw Kaito sitting by himself scribbling at a piece of paper. Figuring there was no better place to sit, as she didn't want to be sitting alone, she took a seat next to the animator. "Hey there, Casanova, what'cha drawing there?" she asked.

Kaito looked up from his paper, annoyed at the title she decided to use. "I already told you, that's not my name!" he said.

"Hey, chill out, it was only a joke." Takara said as she picked up a piece of bacon. "I wasn't trying to mess with you or anything."

"Sorry, I haven't been having a good morning so far." Kaito said, his voice still giving off irritation. "I have a bit of a headache and I couldn't find the pen I was looking for. Not to mention that I burned my breakfast so now I have nothing to eat."

"Want some of this bacon?" Takara asked. "I didn't really want any of it, but Shizuka insisted I take it."

"Sure. Thanks." Kaito said. He took the remaining pieces of bacon as he continued to return to his drawing. He dipped his pen in a jar of ink and moved it across the paper.

"Wow, I didn't think you were the kind of person to use a dip pen." Takara said, amazed at what she saw.

"It's a back-up pen." Kaito explained. "I prefer using ball-point or fountain pens, but I couldn't find any of them in my things so I grabbed this one. It has it's advantages though, I'll admit that."

"Not many people use them anymore." Takara said. "Usually they're only used in art classes or for calligraphy."

"Well, I still use them." Kaito said, taking a bite into the bacon.

"So what are you drawing? You never told me that." Takara said.

"I'm drawing the others." Kaito answered as he placed the pen down and handed her sheets of paper he had already finished. Every sheet contained a different person drawn in a multitude of styles. Anime, western cartoon, chibi, they were all there. "I may not be able to do any animation work while I'm stuck here, but at the very least I can practice my skills."

She came across the page with drawings of her all over them. "Okay, I don't care if this is supposed to be a chibi, my head is _not_ that big!" Takara said jokingly.

Kaito managed a small laugh. "You should see Shigeru, his head is massive!" he said. Takara couldn't help but laugh. "I've got a little over half of the others drawn up already by this point. I'm hoping that I can be done with the rest of them in a few days."

"So who are you working on right now?" Takara asked as she took a bite out of her toast.

"Shizuka." Kaito said. "I actually want to give this one to her to apologize for yesterday, but I doubt Kazumi will even let me within five feet, let alone talk to her."

"You're not going to flirt with her again, are you?" Takara asked.

"No! I just want to give it to her as a token of apology!" Kaito insisted. "Besides, she's an artist like I am, so I thought that she would appreciate it. In fact, I insist you keep yours! I won't take no for an answer! You want proof that I mean well, so here it is!" He searched through the sheets of paper and pulled out the one with drawings of Takara on it, shoving it at her.

"Alright, if you say so." Takara said, taking the drawings and placing them in her bag. As the last person left the kitchen and sat down, Shigeru stood up and looked over the others.

"Now that you're finally done getting all your food," he said, irritated that it took so long in the first place. "Is there any updates on our situation at all?" No one answered at first. Takara wasn't sure if it was because no one had been bothering to look, or if there really wasn't anything they could think of that was worth bringing up.

"I looked through the library all day yesterday." Naomi said. "I probably looked through about half of the books in there and didn't find anything overly useful. I did check out a few books that caught my eye, but they don't seem to have much to do with our escape."

"Then why bother checking them out in the first place?" Ryouta sneered.

"They relate to the school." Naomi answered as she pushed her glasses up her face. "I don't know the details of what's in them, but I have a feeling they may answer at least one of my questions."

"Anything else?" Shigeru said.

"Well, I thought that maybe we could just swim out of here or something. You know, since the docks are there and all I figured I could jump off of them and see how far I could get." Hikaru said. "But when I went over to where they're supposed to be, they weren't there anymore!"

"What?!" Kazumi said. "The fuck do ya mean the docks weren't there?!"

"He means just that." Ayame said. "They were gone! We went to test his idea but the docks had vanished! It was like they didn't even exist or something!"

"Maybe Monokuma thought we would think of that." Miyako said.

"Oh come on, Morino." Arata said. "You mean to tell me that that stupid bear knew ahead of time that someone would think of swimming off the island? And that's why he magically got rid of the docks? That has got to be the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"I would not put it past him." Chiyo said. "He is capable of relieving us of our mobile phones without us noticing, appearing wherever he pleases out of thin air, and has the means to create multiple copies of himself at will. At this point, saying he could do that is not too much of a stretch."

"Not only that, but there's also a giant fence in it's place!" Hikaru said. "We have no way of leaving this place by water!"

"Hm, he's clever. I'll give him that." Shigeru said.

"But how did he know you were going to do that in the first place?" Kaito said.

"Because I heard him talking about it, that's why!" Monokuma said. Everyone turned to where Shigeru had once been sitting, finding Monokuma sitting there laughing to himself.

"When da fuck did he get here?!" Kazumi shouted.

"About a minute and a half ago!" Monokuma said. "Let me tell ya, you kids have such interesting conversations, so I thought I'd join in on one!"

"You've been listening the whole time?" Kumiko asked. "How'd you do that? Do you have super-enhanced hearing or something? That would be so cool!" How could she say that at a time like this?!

"Oh no, nothing cliched like that." Monokuma said. "Those nifty little cameras I placed all over the resort show me everything you bastards say and do. So you can't keep anything secret from me. I'll know every plan you make the moment you talk about it, so any ideas you have of escaping are futile!"

"So there's no hiding anything from you." Minoru said. "I thought that at least we had an edge over you."

"Nope! You thought wrong!" Monokuma said. "I heard Nagai here talking all about his little plan with Ishikawa, so I went and got rid of those pesky little docks before you could pull anything."

"But how did you make them disappear in the first place?" Shizuka asked.

"Hm, didn't I tell you?" Monokuma asked. Shizuka shook her head. "Well then I guess it's none of your damn business, now is it?"

"Are you here to tell us anything interesting, or are you just going to be a bloody nuisance?" Naomi asked.

"Nah, I think I'm good." Monokuma said. "Just wanted to make sure you knew that there's nothing you can plan under my nose. It's a very good nose after all, and it can smell trouble from miles away!"

"Get the fuck out of here already!" Ayame said.

"You make me sad, I grace you with my presence and you want me to leave." Monokuma held his head down low. "How cruel can you brats be? Oh well, I best take my leave then lest you try to kick me out. But I'll be back to begin the first act! That is, unless you decide to start it yourselves." He jumped off the chair and vanished once again.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but that just ruined the good mood I was in." Satoshi said.

There wasn't much more talking throughout breakfast. Monokuma's appearance seemed to suck away the happy atmosphere and no one wanted to continue the discussion knowing he could hear them. So everyone ate in silence and left once they finished eating. Takara went to see if what happened to the docks was actually true. Just as they had said the docks were gone, vanished without a trace. And standing where it once was, stood a large wire fence. She didn't want to believe it, but there it was staring her in the face.

There was no use staring at this fence, it wouldn't just go away any time soon, so Takara decided to head back to the hotel. She had no idea what to do for the rest of the day, maybe she would look around the stores for something to keep her busy, or maybe she would go see if there were any good books in the library. But as it turned out, fate decided to choose her day for her.

"Tsukuda! There you are! I've been looking for you!" A voice called from behind her. Arata was standing there, a grin on his face.

"Oh, Arata. Hi." Takara said. "What did you need from me?"

"Have you forgotten already?" Arata said, and for a moment Takara thought she saw that shine in his glasses that always happened in every anime ever. "I have yet to improve your wardrobe! I have the perfect outfit that would suit you splendidly. Now come, it's time we changed your look!" Before she had a moment to object, Arata had taken a hold of her arm and was pulling her back to the hotel.

The two passed Chiyo and Kumiko as they approached the building, and the comic artist seemed to have a worried look in her eyes. "Watch out Takara!" she called out. "Don't let the pervert do anything bad to you!"

"I told you, I'm not a pervert!" Arata shouted with a red face.

"That's what they all say!" Kumiko shouted back.

Arata ignored her as he dragged Takara through the doors and up the stairs. He took out his card key and swiped it through the door, leading her into his room. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it probably wasn't this. Pinned all across the walls were concept designs for new outfits, each one filled with personal notes left there by the designer himself no doubt. At the end of the room were empty mannequins, probably one of the rare moments they ever were. The designer had finally let her go and went searching through a suitcase, which was without a doubt stuffed with clothes. "Hang on, I got just the thing in here!" he said.

"Well I guess since we have a minute, I can ask you what the deal is between you and Kumiko." Takara said.

"Me and Kumiko?" Arata repeated as he continued to look around. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since day one, she's been calling you a pervert." Takara explained. "And I want to know why."

Arata tensed up almost instantly, and although she couldn't see his face she just knew he had his teeth clenched together. "I don't understand that girl!" he said. "Honestly, all I wanted to do was give her a better looking wardrobe instead of that ghastly monstrosity she calls an outfit! I mean what the hell was she thinking?! Wearing such a disgusting neon yellow with stripes! It's atrocious! So seeing her in such a beastly thing I decided to grab a much more suitable outfit from my room and demanded that she change into it. I wanted to stay there and make sure that she actually put it on instead of just dumping it in some corner to gather dust, but she mistook my words for me wanting to see her undress herself! Can you believe it?! I would never want to watch Akamine strip down to her underwear like some lowlife! I have standards!"

"You mean she actually thought you wanted to see her without clothes?" Takara asked. "Wow, and here I thought it was because you tried to do something else to her!"

"What do you mean?" Arata asked.

"You know, a misplaced hand in the wrong spot or something and then everything is completely ruined?"Takara said.

"My god, Tsukuda! Are you insinuating that I wanted to touch her or something?!" Arata asked.

"Well, no." Takara said. "I just meant it could have happened on accident and she mistook it as something serious."

"Even if I was a pervert, I wouldn't dare touch someone like Akamine." Arata said. Takara decided to hold back the comment that what he just said was wrong on so many levels. "She's too wild for my liking."

"So what were you trying to get her to wear in the first place?" Takara asked.

"It' a bit more wild than my usual work, but it's something fitting for her nonetheless." Arata said. "If I can find it, I'll show it to you. But Akamine isn't important right now, you are! And I've already found the first outfit you should try on." The _first_ outfit? There was more than one? He handed Takara a stack of clothes and shoved her towards the bathroom. "Just put this on and come on out when you're done. By the time we're through, I, Arata Miyazaki, will have improved your visage by 50%!" The bathroom door was shut behind her as she was left alone with her own thoughts. She was going to be here for a while.

\---------------------------

"Man, why da fuck is most of this place blocked off in da first place?!" Kazumi said, irritated that she had nowhere to go as she stood in front of one of the blockades in the path. Just like where the docks once were, there was a fence with a "Do Not Enter" sign placed on it. The only difference was that there was a gate here with a lock on it. It had only been three days, and she had already been everywhere she thought was worth seeing. She was starting to get bored. Patience was never really one of her strengths. "I'd be kinda glad if a murder or whatever happened at dis point. Least then there'd be somethin' ta do in this shithole!"

"Hey, I'm in the same boat as you on the whole boredom thing, but I really don't think a murder case is the answer." Ayame said, staring at the lock.

"I dunno, I wouldn't mind seein' Kitagawa's corpse lyin' on the ground." Kazumi said with a smirk. "Serve dat prick right if ya ask me!"

"You say that now, but I bet if it actually happens you won't be laughing then." Ayame replied.

Kazumi leaned against the gate. "Are ya kiddin' me? Don' tell me ya don' wanna see shit happen ta him. He's stuck-up and annoyin'! I almost punched him back on da first day!"

"Oh I agree, his highness deserves karma to bite him in the ass." Ayame said. "But even I think that death is taking things a bit too far." She let go of the lock in frustration. "Shit, no luck. There's no way to get this lock off. Not without breaking it that is, and I don't know about you but I don't want to risk being the victim of one of that bear's 'punishments'."

"Seriously?! What da FUCK?!" Kazumi shouted as she threw her hands in the air and stomped her foot.

"Unless you want to go down to shopping lane, even though we can just take whatever we want, we should just go back to the hotel or something. I'm getting hungry for lunch anyway." Ayame said, turning to make her way back.

"Wait, I jus' got an idea!" Kazumi said. "Maybe we can find something interestin' behind the hotel!"

"Behind the hotel?" Ayame said in confusion.

"It's da only place no one's bothered ta look yet, and it could be holdin' somethin' crazy fun!" Kazumi said. "We won' know til we find out! Come on, Ishikawa les' go!"

"But what about lunch?" Ayame said, her tone suggesting that she was complaining. "I need to pack in all the calories I can get. Can't I at least go make some rice balls or something?"

"I don' believe I'm sayin' dis but lunch can wait!" Kazumi said, taking hold of the football player's hand. "And who knows, maybe we'll find somethin' dat can help us outta here!"

"You're not going to take no for an answer are you?" Ayame asked.

"Hell no!" Kazumi said as she ran off with Ayame in tow.

"Dammit! Why the hell are you so stubborn?" The football player asked as she was forced to run. All she wanted was to eat, why the fuck did she have to get dragged along by the one girl who was more stubborn than she was?

"I ain't stubborn!" Kazumi insisted. That was just proof of her stubborness! Making it back to the hotel, the vocalist immidiately made a beeline for the right side of the building. She was convinced there had to be something back here, and she didn't give a damn if Monokuma found them out. She just had to see for herself. Although there was nothing special or extravagant behind the building, there was a path that most likely had been unexplored. "Bullseye!" she shouted. "Ya see, I told ya somethin' was here!"

Ayame looked past the vocalist to get a good look at the path. "Huh. You were right." she said. "Doesn't look like it's blocked off either."

"Then what da fuck are we waitin' for?" Kazumi said, letting go of Ayame's hand. "Let's hurry up and see what's over there already!" She instantly rushed off towards the path, the football player coming behind her and quickly catching up. This was it! This was their way out! They were home free!

"And just where do you two girls think you're going, huh?" The two skidded to a halt, they had barely made it down the path before Monokuma appeared out of nowhere right in front of them. "Your enthusiasm, while misplaced, is something I can applaud! But I'm afraid that you can't come this way yet!"

"Are ya serious?!" Kazumi said. "Why da fuck not?!"

"It's a surprise, you see!" Monokuma said. "And if you take even a tiny peak at it before it's ready, then all my hard work will be ruined!"

"Well if we're not supposed to come here, then why is the pathway open?" Ayame asked.

"I didn't think you two would find this place so soon." Monokuma explained. "No one else even bothered to check behind the hotel, so I thought it was the perfect spot to set up my little surprise! You're just lucky I got here so soon. Otherwise who knows what I'd do to you! Now get out if here! I won't tell you twice!" Before either of them could say another word, he vanished once again.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Kazumi shouted at the top of her lungs as she stormed back to the hotel. Ayame was glad that now she could get something to eat, but she couldn't help but wonder what Monokuma's "surprise" really was. And if it was something any of them would even want.

\-----------------

"You look perfect in that outfit! Be honest with me Tsukuda, doesn't this just scream 'Super High School Level Reporter'?" Arata said. Takara looked down at the current outfit she was wearing. They were the same colors as her regular clothes were, but looked more "professional" for lack of a better word. The skirt was longer as were her shirt sleeves, which considering the warm weather wasn't helping much. The shirt was a button up and was actually more of a pale orange compared to her shirt. While the skirt fanned out a bit around the bottom. It certainly wasn't a bad outfit, but she didn't really enjoy it as much as the designer hoped.

"I guess it does?" Takara said, unsure how to respond. "Though it's not really something I would wear."

Arata scoffed. "You've said that about the past five outfits I gave you!" he said.

"Sorry, they just aren't my kind of thing." Takara said.

Arata sighed in disappointment. "Oh well, I suppose not everyone has a brilliant eye for these things like I do." he said. "I guess you can go. But you're taking this one with you." He pointed at the current ensemble. "At the very least I'm making you leave with one improvement to your wardrobe. Just grab your other outfit and leave."

Without another word, Takara grabbed her clothes and bag and left the designer alone. Taking her key out of her bag, she entered her room and immediately began to change back into her normal clothes. "Finally, I thought he'd never stop shoving clothes in my face." she said as she placed Arata's outfit on her bed. Great, now she was stuck with it. After staring at it for a good moment, she decided to hang it up in the small closet. Better to leave it there then let it get crumpled up somewhere. Even if she wasn't fond of it, it was still a nice outfit and needed to be treated like one. She glanced at the rest of her clothes, realizing that she would need to go down to the laundromat sometime tomorrow and get them washed. She was running out of clean clothes.

Before she left, she took Kaito's drawings of her and placed it up on the wall. If she was going to keep it, it deserved to be displayed. With nothing better to do, she left to go see if anything else interesting was happening.

She found herself returning to the recreational room, where they had all found themselves waking up. It was empty as she suspected, the note from before still there. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and reread it carefully, scanning it over an over in hopes of finding some explanation. But no matter how many times she read it, nothing made any more sense to her. By all accounts, none of this should have happened. She should have been at the school by now, taking her classes and doing homework. All of them should. Why did they have to be the ones who were dragged into this mess? Why here at this empty resort? And why did it feel like she was forgetting something?

"Kara-chan! I thought I saw you walk in here!" Satoshi's voice snapped Takara out of her thoughts, placing her back into reality. She turned to see him smiling there as if nothing was wrong. He walked over to her, noticing the letter in her hands. "I'm pretty sure that isn't going to change no matter how much you look at it."

"What do you want, Satoshi?" Takara asked.

"I just want to spend time with you, that's all!" Satoshi said, looking down at his feet. "I just want to be your friend, but it feels like you keep pushing me away or try to avoid me. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just haven't been in the best of moods since this whole thing started." Takara said. "I mean, you're way too enthusiastic though, and it's a little unsettling all things considered."

"I'm just an optimistic person, that's all. I prefer to look on the bright side of things." Satoshi said. "I don't believe that any one of us is going to try to kill somebody, so I'm not worried about that. And to be fair, there are much worse places that I could think of to be trapped in, so I'd say we lucked out. It's a nice resort, you know. I just wish the others could see that things aren't all bad."

"But we have no way to go home." Takara said. "We can never see any of our friends and families, they don't even know what's happening to us! They think we're just on a school paid trip and that everything is fine. And then there's the school itself! I doubt that Monokuma actually works at the school, so they're probably going to get confused about what's happening to us. No one even knows where we are! We all had lives, futures, ahead of us, and now it's been taken away from under our fingertips. Aren't you the least bit upset about being unable to continue your work in archaeology?"

Satoshi didn't answer for a moment, taking a seat and messing with his goggles. "To tell you the truth, no." he said.

"No? What do you mean no?" Takara asked, sitting down as well.

"The thing is, I've never really liked being an archaeologist." Satoshi explained. "Sure, I can find buried things, whether it's trash or treasure, but I don't want that to be what I do for the rest of my life. I only became an archaeologist because I found some ancient bones by chance when I was young. After then, my whole life suddenly became dedicated to it. My parents were so proud to have someone like me as a son, they always said I could change the world with my findings, so I never had the heart to tell them I wanted to stop. I thought that by coming to Hope's Peak, I could start changing my life. Take matters into my own hands. Find my own talents and focus my life on that. Graduating from there guarantees success in life no matter where you go or what you do. I'm not some prodigy, I'm just a kid who got lucky and keeps getting lucky. And if you ask me, that doesn't feel like a real talent worthy of being 'Super High School Level'. I guess I'm just not upset about all this because in reality I wanted something like this."

"I didn't know that." Takara said. He had just let out all his troubles to her, someone he barely knew. She wasn't sure how to take that. "I always thought Hope's Peak students were happy to get accepted for whatever it is they did in life."

"I'm probably not the only one." Satoshi said. "I bet at least one or two other people here feel the same way as I do about their own talents."

"So what are you thinking of doing with your life then?" Takara asked. He had to have some idea about how he wanted to change his life.

"I'm not sure." Satoshi answered with a weak smile. "I've thought about a number of things, but could never decide which one I wanted. Although, I had been thinking about journalism recently. Not that I'm trying to steal your thunder or anything."

"Why journalism?" Takara asked. "It's not an easy thing to do."

"I can't tell you." Satoshi said. "You'll laugh or think it's stupid."

"No I won't." Takara said. "I promise. Just tell me."

"The thing is, you honestly inspired me." Satoshi said, to the shock of the journalist next to him. "I've read your reports multiple times, and they actually keep me going in my pursue of a real talent. You've worked so hard and gone to great lengths to discover the truth and present it to the world. It makes me think that if I push myself far enough that I could find what I wanted to do before high school was over. You're like a hero to me, Kara-chan. That's why I was so excited to meet you and find out we were both going to Hope's Peak. Even if I didn't go with journalism in the end, I would at least have you by my side to push me along.

"But I guess I screwed up there. I can tell you don't want much to do with me, and I don't blame you. I never had many friends, and I'm a little socially awkward, so I can see why I left such a bad first impression. I just wanted you to like me is all."

Takara wasn't sure what she was feeling at that moment. She was definitely flattered, no one had ever come to her and said that what she did inspired them or even called her their hero, but at the same time she felt guilty. She shot him down before he even had a chance. Satoshi wasn't a bad person, he was just lost and a bit strange. And he looked to her for inspiration, and she had been trying to avoid him. That was a shitty thing to do when she thought about it.

"Are you alright, Kara-chan?" Satoshi asked. "You just started crying." Takara lifted her hand up to her eyes and sure enough, there were tears. Sure, she felt bad because of the way she had treated him so far, but that didn't explain why she was crying. "Did I say something to upset you?"

She wiped away the tears and looked at the archaeologist. "No it's not anything you did or said." she replied. "I'm not sure why I'm crying like this."

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better, I can understand if it's me you're upset with." Satoshi said.

Takara shook her head. "I'm not lying, I have no idea why I'm crying. I'm just as confused about this as you are." She continued to wipe her eyes until the tears began to stop. "Look, Satoshi, I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you. I was just weirded out a bit by your behavior, but it's not your fault."

"What are you trying to say, Kara-chan?" Satoshi asked.

"I guess I'm saying that if we take things slow, we can try to be friends." she said.

"You mean it? You're serious about this?" Satoshi asked, and it looked like he was about to burst into tears by the look on his face. Takara smiled and nodded her head. Before she had any idea what was happening, she found herself wrapped into a sudden hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you, Kara-chan!"

"Um, Satoshi, can you let go of me?" Takara said, slightly uncomfortable with his affectionate gesture.

"Oh, right, sorry!" Satoshi said as he let go of the journalist. "I was just so happy that I couldn't contain myself there. That's not going to ruin our friendship is it, Kara-chan?"

"No, it's not." Takara said. "Although calling me 'Kara-chan' might do it."

"But it suits you! Or at least I think it does." Satoshi said.

"Just try to cut back on the nicknames, okay?" Takara said. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Oh, alright." Satoshi said. "Hey, you wanna get dinner or something? It's getting to be around that time and all, and I know I'm getting hungry."

"Sure, why not. I don't got anything better to do." Takara said as she stood up. "Let's go get something to eat."

Satoshi smiled as he stood up, walking over to the door of the rec room with Takara following behind him. He opened the door and held it open for her with a nervous smile. It was strange, but Takara realized that that's just how Satoshi was. Maybe he acted a bit odd, but someone around here had to look on the bright side she guessed. And he was that person. Walking to the restaurant and sharing a meal together, Takara found the end of the day to be relaxing if a bit weird. Maybe Satoshi was right and Chiyo was wrong. Sure, not everyone got along very well, but there was no way anyone here would really try to kill someone just to leave. Because in the end, they were all making friends with one another and living out their days here in peace.

Returning to her room with peaceful thoughts in her head, Takara found herself able to fall asleep better than she had since arriving here. Any worries of murder and punishments were gone, and although she wasn't happy being here she figured that the sixteen of them would find a way out of this place and make it back home safe and sound. But she had no idea that the events that would unfold tomorrow would make it all crumble down.

**16 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's times like this I wish I wasn't restricting myself when it comes to relationships. Oh well.


	8. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Daily Life IV

With the sun shining through the curtains, Takara found herself waking up before the morning announcement played. She looked at the clock, 6:45 a.m. There were still fifteen minutes before morning officially began, leaving the journalist with nothing to do but get ready for the day ahead. She shuffled through her bag to find a fresh outfit, only to find that everything was dirty. Oh well, guess she was heading to breakfast in her pajamas, and if anyone had something to say about that then she didn't care. She made a note to herself to grab her clothes afterwords. Hopefully the laundromat was working at this point. As she continued her usual morning routine, Monokuma's dreadful voice came out of the monitor above her bed, signaling the end of nighttime. No point in standing around here at that point. Grabbing her bag and room key, she rushed to the door to hear someone knocking at it. Who could be there this early? She opened the door to find Chiyo standing there patiently.

"Good morning, Ms. Tsukuda." she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Actually, yeah. I did." Takara answered. "Best sleep I've had since we got here in fact. Anyway, what's up?"

"I am here to present a gift to you." Chiyo said. "I figured you would be awake by now, so I decided to come to you first."

"Huh? A gift?" Takara said. Why would she be giving her a gift? "What's the occasion?"

"I was having trouble sleeping last night." Chiyo said. "The aura of death appears to be drawing closer. I am worried for everyone else and their safety, therefore I decided to use my time efficiently and worked through the night creating these." She pulled something out of her cloak pocket. As she handed it to Takara it became clear that it was a omamori, a small talisman meant to provide luck and protection. The journalist had seen them sold at temples all the time, but she never went to the trouble to pick one up for herself. She never believed that much in the idea that a small talisman was meant to bring her fortune. Out of respect, she took the charm and tied it onto her bag.

"Thanks." she said, trying to be polite. "But why make talismans?"

"Well, back home I helped my family around the shrine when I was not performing my duties as a medium." Chiyo explained. "One of the duties I had was to help produce these around the end of the year. Considering I can sense death drawing ever closer, I have no way of knowing who will fall to it. However, I will not just sit around and allow for death to claim a victim. Hence why I made these." She pulled out a few others from her pocket, each one in different colors. "I made one for each of us. I am planning to find everyone throughout the day and give them these. Hopefully they will provide protection to everyone regardless of what events may unfold."

"That's not a bad idea, I guess." Takara said.

"Is there a reason you are still wearing your pajamas?" Chiyo asked.

"I'm out of clean clothes, figured I'd stop by the laundromat later today and get them washed." Takara explained. "Until then, I'm stuck wearing these."

"Ahhh, I see." Chiyo said. "I too will need to visit the laundromat some time soon. I should check my garments later today to see how many I have left."

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to breakfast." Takara said, making her best attempt not to be rude. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Ah yes, do forgive me for holding you up." Chiyo said. "I shall see you some other time." Shutting the door behind her, Takara made her way to the restaurant. Even with her talk with Chiyo, she discovered she was the first one there. The only other people were Kazumi, who was sleeping at a table, and Masaru, who exited the kitchen in shock.

"Takara? What are you doing here so early?" he asked. "Most people don't get here for another five minutes."

"I woke up a little early so I came straight here." Takara answered, taking her seat. "What about you though?"

"I always come here early." Masaru explained. "Monokuma unlocks the doors fifteen minutes before nighttime ends in case I want to prepare breakfast."

"I suppose that explains why you had those eggs ready in time the other day." Takara said. "What are you doing out here though? Shouldn't you be making the food?"

"I'm just taking a little break, it's pretty hot in there." Masaru said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I got Shizuka handling things in the meantime. She wasn't joking when she said she could cook." He laughed a little, probably surprised at her skills.

"What about her?" Takara asked, pointing over at Kazumi.

"Shizuka brought her down here to make sure she would be awake by the time breakfast was ready." Masaru explained. "I guess she's not that good at waking up early. She's not asleep though, she's just trying to stay awake."

As people began to walk in, Masaru decided to rejoin Shizuka in the kitchen. Most of the students either gave Takara a strange look or ignored her completely. She had seen the odd looks coming, but it didn't matter to her. Eventually, Satoshi entered along with a small group consisting of himself, Chiyo, and Kumiko. He smiled and instantly took a seat beside the journalist. "Good morning, Kara-chan!" he said. Looks like he'd already forgotten that thing about the nicknames. That or he was too excited to care.

"Morning, Satoshi." she said. Chiyo and Kumiko sat down next to them, the latter giggling. "What's so funny?" Takara asked her.

"Oh nothing, nothing." Kumiko said, a mischevious smile on her face. "Don't mind me, just go back to whatever it is you two were doing."

"Is there any reason Kumiko's acting like a little shit?" Takara asked Chiyo.

"She seems to be convinced that you and Mr. Teruya here are some sort of item." Chiyo explained.

"What?!" Takara shouted. "Hey, listen, we're not a thing! What made you think that?"

"Welllll, I just saw you two going into the rec room yesterday. And you two were in there for a reallllly long time! I thought something had to be going on in there, so I stayed and kept a close eye on the door! And then you two came walking out together, and Toshi looked super happy like something amazing just happened, so I thought well of course they must be together! And that's the end of that!" Kumiko explained.

"We were just talking, that's all! Nothing happened between us in there! We're only friends, if you even want to call us that!" Takara insisted.

"Awww." Kumiko said as she puffed out her cheeks. "You're no fuuuuun."

Nothing else eventful happened the rest of the morning, except when Ayame and Kazumi mentioned they had found a path behind the hotel. Not that it did them any good since Monokuma was blocking off the path. So the instant Takara finished her meal, she returned to her room and gathered up her clothes in a bag. She made her way towards the laundromat, ignoring the stares people gave her because she was still in pajamas. Only two other people were there besides her. Minoru, who seemed to be covering himself with nothing but his lab coat, and Miyako, who was just finishing up it looked like.

"Ah, hello there, Takara. It's nice to see you here." Minoru said with a friendly smile. "Here to do laundry, I see."

"Well that's the only reason I'd come here." Takara joked. "Looks like the machines here are working."

"Yeah. It's a bit strange without having to put in any money, but all you have to do is pick your settings and press start." Minoru explained.

"Wow, it's that easy?" Takara asked as she opened a washing machine and stuck her clothes in. "That's pretty convenient. Maybe I'll put my clothes in the dryer if it's free."

"Considering the lines are filled with someone else's clothes, it's the only choice." Minoru said as he pointed up at the clotheslines. Turns out he was right, they were all filled with other sets of clothes. "They were probably left here overnight or something. The doors lock at nighttime so you can't do any late night laundry."

"Looks like those are Hikaru's clothes." Takara said. "He's the only one here who's wearing tank tops."

"I'll have to remind him once I'm finished up here." Minoru said. "Wouldn't want him to leave them here for too long, you know?"

"I guess." Takara said. "Mind helping me out here with the machines?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure!" Minoru said. "First you need to choose the water intensity..."

\-----------------------

"Is that a new design you're working on?" Kaito asked, leaning over Arata's shoulder as he looked down at the paper. There were two sketches, one of a dress and one of a suit. There wasn't much detail to them, but it was probably due to the fact that it was still early into the process.

"You got that right, Fujiwara." Arata said. "Specifically, these will be the two starting outfits for my newest line of clothing!"

"Sweet." Kaito said. "Got a theme going on yet?"

"As much as I despise Monokuma, I have to admit the duality in his design fascinates me." Arata said. "It's like yin and yang, light and dark..."

"Hope and despair?" Kaito added.

"Ohh, that's a good one! I wouldn't have thought of that!" Arata said. "I'll have to remember that one. Anyway, the idea of opposite elements is just calling out to me! Therefore, the entire line is going to be based entirely upon that theme! I figured I'd start with something simple and go with designs based on the stupid bear himself. At the very least, he can serve as the basis for my newest set of designs."

"Don't give him too much credit, he might think that means you like him." Kaito said with a snicker. Arata tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it.

"I'll keep that in mind." he said. "I'm surprised that you're so interested in my designs, Fujiwara. You don't really seem like the type who's into fashion."

"Oh I'm not." Kaito said. "But design is something I'm ecstatic about. Being an animator, I've had to create a number of concepts for setting and characters and all that stuff. Although most of what I do hasn't involved designing yet, I have a number of ideas for characters for films and series I want to create someday. Maybe I'm just more interested in watching you work or something."

"There's nothing wrong with that, I actually like your presence, Fujiwara." Arata said. "Most people are incredibly annoying when I'm trying to design, but you seem to respect my space and don't ask incredibly stupid questions."

"Really?" Kaito asked. "Wow, that's a relief."

"If the moment ever comes, I'd like to help you in designing some outfits for your characters, if you would allow me to that is." Arata proposed.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'd allow it!" Kaito said. "Your ideas would be amazing!"

"Of course they would, all of my ideas are amazing." Arata said.

"I'd love to stay and chat some more with ya, but I got things I need to take care of. So I'll see you later!" Kaito said as he stood up and headed for the library's exit.

"Very well, I'll see you later!" Arata responded.

"Will you keep it down!" Naomi called from the second floor, an anger in her voice that sounded unfamiliar. "Some of us are trying to bloody find something to help us leave, if you don't mind!"

"S-sorry, Williams..." Arata said, startled by the translator's behavior. "I didn't mean to get you angry like that."

"Huh?" Naomi said, almost unaware of what happened. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that! It's been a long and tiring ordeal and all that noise was making it hard to focus." She was back to her normal self.

"If you say so..." Arata said. "I'll just go somewhere else so I don't disturb you." The designer picked up the pieces of paper with his sketches and headed for the door. What was that all about? He had never seen Naomi get so angry before. It didn't feel right.

After Arata had left, Naomi cursed to herself in English. How the hell did she let that out?! She was usually so good at keeping her anger in check! To think that she acted that way towards Arata... "Why did I let such a thing happen?!"

Unaware to her, someone was watching from another bookshelf and listening in on her self-ranting. This was a side of the translator they hadn't seen before. Perhaps it would come in handy later. But for now, they had to keep quiet. She couldn't know that they had seen her.

\----------------------

"Finally! They're done!" Takara told herself as she opened the dryer. It felt like she had been here all day waiting for her clothes to dry off. She had even needed to go to the convenience store to pick up some snacks and a drink to keep her from getting hungry. But now they were finished and she could go back to her room and change into some fresh clothes. She stuffed everything into the bag and made her way out the door, nearly crashing into someone else going to the laundromat in the process. She made her way back to the hotel, card key in hand, and made it up to the top of the stairs when an announcement began to play. Takara knew it wasn't nighttime yet, so whatever this was about was definitely going to be trouble.

"Attention, Hope's Peak Academy students! This is Monokuma speaking with a very important announcement!" Monokuma's voice came out of the nearest monitor, which was placed directly next to the stairs. The image of him sitting in a hot tub with drink in hand appeared on screen. "All students must report to the front desk as soon as possible for a very important announcement. Attendance is mandatory! That is all!" With that the screen shut off. This was definitely not going to be good. Figuring there was enough time for her to grab a pair of clothes and put the rest of her laundry in her room, as it would take a while for everyone to arrive, she resumed her original course. Quickly getting changed and leaving the bag on her bed, Takara made her way to the front desk.

Most of the others were already waiting. Some were confused as to why they had been called here, while others had frightened looks on their faces. She couldn't blame them, she was uneasy as well. Setting herself next to Satoshi, she waited for the few remaining students to arrive. "What do you think he wants this time, Takara?" Satoshi asked in a shaky voice. He was one of the people who were standing in fear, the fact that he wasn't refering to her by that stupid nickname and the tone of his voice making it even more clear.

"I don't know." Takara answered truthfully. "But knowing this bear, it can't be good." She looked around to see Kazumi, Shizuka, and Ryouta arriving at the scene. With everyone gathered together, it didn't take long for Monokuma to pop out from behind the front desk.

"Well then, looks like everyone's here! Good job!" he said, almost as if he were mocking them. "I guess I won't have to punish everyone for being tardy!"

"Cut the crap already and just get to the point." Hikaru said. "Why'd you have us come here that you couldn't just tell us using the screen?"

"I guess there's no fooling you, even the dim lightbulbs can see when something's up I suppose." Monokuma said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ayame asked.

"Oh well, that doesn't matter right now!" Monokuma said. "Well, I gathered you all here today because to put it bluntly... I'm getting sick of you kids sitting around and doing nothing! It's just the same old things every single day! Totally boring and uninteresting! I was hoping you would murder on your own, but now I'm just getting impatient. So I'm here to introduce a motive to you bastards!"

"A motive?" Ryouta asked. "W-what kind of motive?"

"I'm glad you asked, Hoshino!" Monokuma said. "It's a most despairing motive indeed! I'm sure it'll get you kiddos killing in no time!"

"Quit stallin' an' jus' tell us already!" Kazumi shouted.

"Fine! Maybe I will!" Monokuma said. "I'm certain you all are aware of this, but as students of Hope's Peak Academy you represent the hope of the nation. All your talents are sure to help our great country as it enters the new generation. The graduates of the school have performed many great services and will go down in history! But you already know that! Because you're all so smart! But what you don't know is that your talents are the only things you have to your name. And those talents are quite fragile. One wrong move and it can be taken away forever! And I know that some of you just can't afford to let that happen, now can you?"

"Stop speaking in riddles and get to the point!" Shigeru said.

"I guess I will! And I'll even use you as an example!" Monokuma said, to Shigeru's confusion. "Shigeru Kitagawa has made so many musical compositions, it's no wonder that he recieved the title of Super High School Level Composer. From solo pieces on the piano, to pieces created for an entire orchestra, his music shall forever be remembered! That is, unless an accident occurs concerning his compositions."

"What do you mean by an accident?" Shigeru asked.

"As it just so happens, I've come into possession of every copy of sheet music you've made! Along with all recordings of your work, physical and digital." Monokuma said.

Shigeru couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was the first time Takara saw him waver. "That's impossible!" he said. "There's no way you have access to all known copies of my work! No one has that kind of power!"

"Well it just so happens that I do." Monokuma said. "And if I don't see a murder soon, well I guess I may just 'accidentally' burn all his sheet music in a big bonfire!"

"YOU'LL WHAT?!" Shigeru shouted, legitimite fear in his voice.

"And all those recordings will be smashed to pieces or deleted!" Monokuma said.

"There's no way you have the power to do that!" Shigeru said, his arms being held back by Naomi and Masaru as he tried to get closer to the bear.

"Oh, but wait, there's more!" Monokuma exclaimed. "I can take all of Matsuki's beautiful paintings and rip them to pieces!" The painter froze in shock, her eyes wide. "And I can take all of Teruya's archaeological finds and crush them into dust!" The archaeologist nearly fell backwards. Takara knew that his discoveries were placed in high security museums all over the world. If he could find all of those and destroy them... Even if he didn't like being an archaeologist, the idea that this bear could go to even those lengths was frightening. "Oh, and I can delete Akamine's comics off of the world wide web!" The comic artist looked like she was about to burst into tears. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm going to take everything your talents have produced and destroy them one way or another! It'll effectively be as if you never existed! You'll all be just a bunch of nobodies who'll have to work your way back to the top all over again!"

"Hold on a sec, I got a question about all this." Ayame asked, raising her hand.

"Oh? Ask away, Ishikawa!" Monokuma said.

"I think you may have forgotten that some people here don't have anything you can get your hands on and fuck up in one way or another." Ayame said. "I mean, I'm a football player so I don't got anything that can be destroyed, so how am I gonna be affected? And then you got people like Masaru, who makes stuff with his talents but won't last forever. What are you gonna do about that?"

"You bring up a very valid point there, but I already have those little gray areas taken care of." Monokuma said. "It's true, some of you bastards don't have anything I can destroy. But that doesn't mean I have nothing on you!"

"And just what do you have that's supposed to make us wanna kill people?" Ayame asked.

"Well, you for example are a highly skilled football player!" Monokuma explained. "All you can do is kick a ball around a field. But surely there's recorded footage of your games, or articles that praise you for your skills, and I'm sure you've won your team a trophy or two, right? With that in mind, I can find all of these things and dispose of them! I can take those thropies and melt them down into raw materials, and all that video of you can be destroyed in one way or another.

"I should also mention that I have a few places of interest under my control as well. Nothing special mind you, just a certain bakery, a quaint little flower shop, a specific animal hospital, and an old-fashioned shrine." Masaru, Ryouta, Minoru, and Chiyo all reacted in shock. He even had control of physical places?! Just how far did Monokuma's power extend? "All it would take is a simple command, and all those places will cease to exist overnight! I could burn them, tear them down, maybe even blow them up if I feel up to it! The point is, I have something for every single one of you, and I can make them all disappear. Let's say every twenty-four hours a murder hasn't been committed, I'll choose a student at random and erase all proof of their talent. And I'll keep doing it until I see a murder. Of course, whether you decide to kill or not is still your choice! Just remember to ask yourself if losing all your hard work is worth it? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" With a vicious laugh echoing throughout the lobby, Monokuma vanished once again.

"H-H-he can't be serious, right?" Kaito asked, his entire body shaking and his voice cracking. "I mean, no one has the ability to do all that! Right?"

"How could he even get a hold of all those things?" Naomi asked, her glasses about to fall off. "After all, some of us have such an extensive reach that collecting all of those things should be impossible! Shizuka and Satoshi have their works in museums! Highly guarded ones on top of that! So how the hell did he get his paws on them all?!"

"He must have incredibly powerful connections to do such a thing." Shigeru said, still ridden with shock and fear. "That or whoever is controlling him is part of an organization with the ability to gain possession of all these things. We're not just talking about someone who can destroy physical objects such as paintings and sheet music, anyone with enough money on their hands could do that, but he has the ability to delete files off of the internet if his words mean anything. And to take control of four buildings without anyone noticing... This Monokuma is more dangerous than we originally estimated."

"There's no way...someone would really kill over something like this, would they?" Minoru said.

"You put too much faith in everyone here, Yoshihara." Arata said. "I can't speak for everyone here of course, but people will go to extreme lengths for their talents. Or whatever they do is for some bigger cause then they're willing to admit. When we don't even know who could have all their hard work destroyed, the thought that you might be next is one that could drive you to do anything. Even murder."

"All we can do for now is try to stay weary and choose what we do carefully." Takara said, trying to stay calm. As much as she'd rather not admit it, she too was afraid of this motive. She worked hard to bring the truth to light, and had made so many articles for many different papers and magazines. Some of them were about world changing events and discoveries, if all of them were to go up in a cloud of smoke she wouldn't know what to do. But to kill for it? She wouldn't go to such levels would she? "We still have twenty-four hours before the bear decides to do anything. Just watch out and be careful, we don't know who might be taking his words seriously."

"She's got a point there." Shizuka said. "Monokuma could just be trying to say what he knows will get to us so we'll do what he wants. For all we know, he doesn't have anything to use against us."

"I wanna agree wit' ya Matsuki, but he didn't act like he was bluffin'." Kazumi said. "I can tell when people are tryin' ta bluff. And unless he's a damn good liar, everythin' he said was da real deal."

"I don't care if what he's saying is real or not!" Ryouta shouted. "I can't trust any of you to not kill me! I need to stay away from all of you, before my blood is spilling out on the floor!"

"Woah, dude, calm down." Hikaru said. "There's no need to jump to conclusions like that. Chill out for a sec and take some deep breaths."

"Stay back, musclehead!" Ryouta shouted, stepping away from the track runner. "You just want me to let my guard down so you can stab me in the back! Well I'm on to you! None of you can trick me! I won't let you kill me!!!" He turned away and ran straight for the stairs, running as fast as he could move.

"Wow, he runs fast for someone who's super duper skinny like that!" Kumiko said.

"Should we go after him?" Miyako said.

"Nah, people like him are all talk and no action." Ayame said. "He's probably just gonna hide out in his room or something like that. And I'm cool with that, the dude is annoying as hell."

"I do not know about the rest of you, but I need a moment to myself to take all of this in." Chiyo said. "Perhaps we should all go our separate ways for a while. Just out of precaution of course. I do not wish to suggest that I am suspecting anyone in particular."

"No Chiyo, it's fine. I think we could all use some space right now." Satoshi said. "We could probably use some time to calm down and everything. I know I do." Everyone else silently agreed with him. No matter how confident they were projecting themselves as, they all clearly were unsettled by the announcement of this motive. Everyone spread themselves out. Some went outside to get some fresh air, while others returned to their rooms. Takara was one of the latter group, returning to her room with a chill down her neck. She should have known Monokuma was planning something like this. Now everyone was going to suspect each other, if they weren't already.

She had done all she could for now. At least she had done her laundry when she had the chance. Closing the door to her room, she decided that there wasn't much point in leaving for the rest of the night. She still had some of the food she grabbed earlier, so she could always eat something from there if she was hungry. There was still a considerable amount of time left before nighttime would begin, so she had to find a way to keep herself busy until then. She searched through her bags in the hopes that there was something she brought with her that could keep her satisfied. To her luck, she pulled out a brand new journal she had purchased before coming to the school. She brought it with her for the intention of chronicling her time at Hope's Peak, but she couldn't do that now. However, it could still serve as a way for her to write down what was happening to her and the others. Maybe someone would find it and be able to know what happened to them, and if she were to be killed in this resort then at least she could tell the tale of how she died. Pulling out a pencil, she sat down on the bed and began writing about the events of their first day.

She made sure to write down everything. The sudden fainting at the school gates, waking up in the hotel, Monokuma and his speech, all of it. She even wrote down everything she had learned about the students themselves. From Chiyo's past to Satoshi wanting to find his own talent. She wanted their memory to live on in the event something happened to them. She thought to herself that maybe if she did manage to leave here alive, she could get her journal published as a book. This whole situation already felt like a crazy story that took too many cues from Battle Royale, so why not try to make it out as one?

Finishing up with the events of today, Takara set the journal down and glanced at the clock. She had no idea how long she had been writing for, but it was already eight p.m. now. She grabbed something out of the mini-fridge to eat, thinking what she could do to pass the time. It was too early for her to sleep, and she wasn't tired anyway. She was about to look through her lugage again when she glanced at the door on the left side of the wall. She still hadn't taken the time to discover what was inside it. Well, now was as good a time as any. Walking over to the door, she looked for a lock only to find nothing of the sort. She opened the door slowly, unsure of what she would find inside. To her confusion, there was another door.

"Okay, what the hell?" she said to herself. Why would they need to put two doors here? She opened the second door, finding herself in someone else's hotel room. The light was on, meaning that whoever was staying in here was around. For some reason, Takara couldn't recall who was next door to her. She entered the room quietly, it's not as if she had an ulterior motive or anything, in order to get a good look of the room. That would give her an idea of who stayed here.

The walls were covered to the brim with posters, all of them for various games and anime series. There were a few in English that she couldn't understand, but that was the least of her worries. Books and magazines were spread all over the room, stacked up into a number of piles. The TV was on, and somehow a video game was hooked up to it and was currently paused. Wait a minute, of course! This room belongs to...

"Takara?! What are you doing in here?!" Turning towards the exit, Takara saw Kumiko standing there in shock. From the towel wrapped around her head, it was obvious that she had just gotten out of the shower. "Are you able to teleport or something?! Because I know I shut the door tight! Wait, you're not here to kill me are you?!"

"Woah, slow down there!" Takara said. "Chill out, I'm not here to kill you! I was just trying to find out what was behind the strange door in my room and I found myself here, I swear!."

"Strange door?" Kumiko asked, cocking her head to the side.

"The one here by the TV." Takara said as she pointed to the door.

"Ohhhhhhhh, that door." Kumiko said. "For a minute there I thought you had spooky journalisim powers that you were gonna use to murder me! Thankfully you cleared all that up or else I'd have to use my comic artist powers to defeat you in battle!"

"I'm pretty sure we don't even have powers like that." Takara said.

"Ooooo! I just got a brilliant idea!" Kumiko said, jumping in place. "You should play this game with me, Takara! Chi-Chi wanted to be alone tonight, and she doesn't like playing games anyway. But I bet you'll be great at it! Oh this is gonna be super duper extra fun!!!!"

"But I'm not that good at video games." Takara admitted sheepishly.

"Oh that's okay!" Kumiko said. "This game is good for beginners so there shouldn't be any problem! And it's not like I'm gonna kill ya or anything, in either the game or real life. You can totally trust me, I swear it on my immortal soul!"

Takara thought about her situation. She truly didn't believe Kumiko had the guts to try and kill her in her own room, not to mention that would make it obvious who the culprit was. And she didn't have anything to do for about two hours. There wasn't anything wrong with playing a video game when she thought about it. "Sure, what the hell. I don't have anything better to do."

Kumiko squealed with joy. "Oh thank you thank you thank you, Karins!" she said. Great, another stupid nickname she was stuck with. At least Kumiko gave nicknames to everyone and not just her, so it made things slightly more bearable. "I'm even playing a nice relaxing game due to all this cuckoo-loco stuff, because I need some happy fluffy cuteness right now! And from the look on your face, it looks to me like you need some too!" Maybe this was a bad idea... It was too late now, though. Kumiko pulled out a second controller and hooked it up to the system before shoving it into Takara's hand. The two girls sat down on the bed and started playing the game.

Just as Kumiko said, the game wasn't all that hard. This was the kind of game she could get into. And it was pretty relaxing, nothing but cute and colorful visuals. She couldn't even die, she just got sent back a little if she fell down a pit. The comic artist told Takara how to play and everything, making it easy to figure out what she had to do.

"See, you're not that bad!" Kumiko said. "You just need to find the right type of game for you! I have more like this if you're interested!"

"Nah, I'm not that much of a gamer anyway." Takara said. "You seem pretty good at it though."

"Well of course I am!" Kumiko said. "Next to making comics of course, video games are my specialty! I've won a bunch of tournaments without even trying! I'm probably no Super High School Level Gamer, but I'm really really good! I've spent hours playing these games! It's a great thing to help pass the time, you know! If only we had an arcade here or something, then I'd probably never ever ever leave it!"

"You are really strange, Kumiko." Takara said.

"That's okay with me! I like being strange! I see it as being unique or whatever!" Kumiko said. "I find wanting to be normal is overrated anyway. It's so boring!"

"If that's what you wanna do with your life, I'm not gonna stop you." Takara said.

"...Hey, Karins? Do you think we're all gonna make it out of here okay?" Kumiko asked in a somber voice. "I don't wanna believe Chi-Chi, but she never gets these kind of things wrong. And I...I don't wanna die here..."

"...I don't know." Takara answered. "All we can do is hope we make it through with as many people as we can."

"That's easy for you to say but..." Kumiko began, unsure how to speak her thoughts. "I'm probably an easy target here. If Mono keeps making more of these motive thingies, then I'll definitely be one of the people who gets killed here. And I don't wanna think about what might happen if we all get executed."

"Well you shouldn't think about it then." Takara said. "If you keep thinking about the negatives, then yeah nothing good is gonna come of it. But people like you are what keep things going. I wish I had your cheery demeanor right about now."

"...Do you think someone's gonna murder somebody?" Kumiko asked.

"I try not to think about it." Takara said. "And you shouldn't either. Come on, let's keep playing until nighttime. It'll help us take our minds off of all this, okay?"

Kumiko smiled a little. "Okay." she said. "We'll play all night long if we have to!"

"Hey now, let's not go overboard there." Takara said.

The two girls continued to play, ignoring the idea that one of their classmates would commit murder. They just wanted to enjoy themselves while they had the chance. Time continued to fly, until Monokuma's announcement played. Takara, feeling tired, returned to her room through the two doors. Kumiko had already cheered up and waved so hard at the journalist that she fell on her back. Hopefully nothing would happen between the hours of the night and morning that would cause alarm...

\------------------------------------

"Good morning everyone!" Takara tried to drown out Monokuma's stupid announcement as she woke up. She was beginning to memorize it at this point. Not a good sign. She thought it would just end as usual as she changed into her clothes, but unfortunately she was wrong. "By the way, something exciting happened last night while you were all busy trying to keep yourselves occupied! I'm not going to spoil any of the juicy details, but I would look around the place if I were you! See ya later!"

What did he just say? Something exciting? He couldn't mean...

Takara rushed to get into her clothes, not even bothering to brush her hair or anything. She grabbed her room key and bolted out the door, finding a few others standing out in the hall already talking amongst themselves. A few of them were knocking on doors, probably to make sure people were still in their rooms, while a couple of groups split up and made their way towards the stairs. It didn't take long for Shigeru to spot her.

"Takara, good. You're still alive." He said, though he didn't sound all that concerned. "We're still waiting for people to wake up, but you should go out and search the rest of the resort. We don't know where this could have happened."

"Who's left already?" Takara asked.

"Shizuka and Kazumi left a minute ago, while Masaru and Satoshi went off on their own." Shigeru said. "There's no time to talk, we need to be looking. Stop standing around being useless and go search already. I'm not going to tell you again. I have business to take care of." Refusing to listen to another word, the composer walked over to Naomi.

He did have a point though, her time could be better spent elsewhere. Without a moment to spare, Takara ran towards the stairs and out the door. Might as well check outside for anything suspicious. Heading down the one open path, she tried to think of where to check first. It didn't help that there were a hundred stores around here. If only she had an idea of where to-

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream broke her train of thought. It was coming from the laundromat. Not even hesitating, she ran as fast as she could. The door was already open, making it easier for her. Glancing inside she saw Kazumi staring at something she couldn't see, while Shizuka was on her knees. Takara ran inside and rushed to the painter's side. "Shizuka! Are you alright?! What happened?!" she said, grabbing onto her shoulder.

Shizuka had tears coming from her eyes. One hand was clutched over her mouth, while the other was wrapped around her waist. She looked like she was going to throw up. What could she possibly have seen that could have put her in this state?

"She ain't da one ya should be worried 'bout, Tsukuda." Kazumi said, a sense of fear in her voice that didn't feel right. "Look up."

Takara was almost too afraid to take her gaze off of the painter, but knowing she couldn't avoid it she slowly moved her eyes upward. The sight before her was unbelievable to her, she wished it was only a dream. But it was real as can be, and that's why Takara herself screamed.

Hanging from one of the pipes on the ceiling by a noose was Chiyo Ueda, her body swinging slowly as it dangled there. Her cloak was gone and her necklace scattered into pieces on the ground. There was no way to deny it at that point. Chiyo was definitely dead. And someone among them was her murderer.

**15 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	9. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Deadly Life I (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this turned out longer than I expected it to. But I digress, it's time to guess the killer! I've never written an investigation before, so I tried not to make things too obvious. I hope that works out as planned. Please leave your guesses for who the culprit is, I'd love to see them!

This wasn't happening right? It was only a bad dream wasn't it? Takara kept trying to convince herself that what she saw before her wasn't reality. True, she had barely known Chiyo, but she didn't believe the medium deserved this. Why would anyone want to target her? Why would someone want to kill her? Why did she have to die like this?

The sound of the monitor turning on snapped Takara out of her thoughts. "A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voice rang out. Was this the "body discovery announcement" mentioned in the rules? "After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, we will begin our class trial!" Class trial? What was a class trial? The sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance from outside, but Takara ignored them. "Since you kids have no idea what's going on, report to the front desk so I can explain the details. See ya then!" With those final words, the monitor shut off. In it's place were the sound of their fellow classmates arriving, their gasps and startled cries resounding from the doorway.

"I-is that really...?" Masaru asked, unable to finish his sentence.

"I think it is..." Naomi said, pushing up her glasses.

"Well then, it appears that someone took Monokuma's threat to heart." Shigeru said, slightly unfazed.

"And now we have to...figure out who it was." Satoshi said, his head hanging low.

Takara finally managed to stand up, taking Shizuka by the arm to help her up as well. "There's no reason for us to be standing here." she managed to say. "We have to find out more about this class trial thing he mentioned." Everyone seemed to agree and made their way towards the door.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on a sec! First you left me behind when those screams and the announcement thingy happen, and now you're all gonna leave?" Kumiko asked from outside, blocked from entering by the crowd trying to leave. Takara felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Chiyo was Kumiko's best and only friend, if she saw the body who knew how she would react? "That's no fair at all! No sirree! I need to find out what all the screaming was for!"

"Wait, Kumiko, you probably shouldn't-" Satoshi said in an attempt to stop her. He must have realized what could happen as well. His words were in vain though as he was pushed aside with the others. The rest of the crowd tried to speak up and stop her, even Shigeru, but they didn't have the chance to say a word. The comic artist had already pushed through them.

"Now, now, Toshi! You underestimate me!" Kumiko said, interrupting the archaeologist. "I'm sure that whatever's happened here it isn't too much for lil' ol' me...to...handle..." Her words stopped as she made it past the others and into the laundromat, seeing the body of Chiyo hanging from the ceiling. She was frozen in place, her whole world crashing down on her. "Chi-Chi...? Ch-Chiyo...? But why...?" She grabbed onto her head and fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face. "WHY WOULD ANYONE KILL HER?!" she shouted. "SHE'D NEVER HURT ANYONE! NOT EVEN IF HER OWN LIFE WAS ON THE LINE! SO WHY WAS SHE THE ONE WHO WAS KILLED?! WHY?! WHY?! WHYYYYYY?!" She sunk to the floor, her face in her hands, as she cried her eyes out.

Takara passed Shizuka to Kazumi, running over to the bawling comic artist. "Kumiko, I'm so sorry." she said, rubbing her hand across Kumiko's back in an attempt to help. She had no idea if it was working, but she had to try something. "I am so, so, sorry. We can't stay here though, Monokuma has summoned us. We'll find out who did this though, I swear."

"No! I can't leave her!" Kumiko said through her hyperventilating. "I can't just leave Chiyo here all alone! I just can't, Takara!" Despite just meeting her a few days ago, it was obvious by the lack of nicknames that this had hit her especially hard.

"I understand, I know how much she meant to you." Takara said, she wasn't used to trying to comfort people like this. "But we need to go back to the hotel and figure out what's going on. Otherwise we'll all die. We'll find out who did this, I promise."

Kumiko continued hyperventilating, she really was taking this hard. She managed to let out an "Okay." between it all.

"Let me help you up, I'll stick with you." Takara said as she grabbed Kumiko's hand. The comic artist slowly stood up as they walked out of the laundromat with the others. No one said a word the whole way there. Not even Shigeru, who Takara expected to say something about how she needed to get over it, made any remarks. At least he knew when to be decent at a time like this.

"I thought she just overslept really late or something." Kumiko said, her breathing beginning to steady. "I kept knocking at the door but she wasn't answering. I didn't wanna think that she was... she was..." The tears continued as she tried wiping them away with her arm.

"Try to calm down Kumiko, we'll figure this out. You need to take some deep breaths before you start getting worked up again." Takara said. Kumiko tried to take in long, deep breaths as she was instructed, but it didn't look like it was doing much good. The group finally made their way back to the hotel, finding the others standing by the front desk unaware of what was going on.

"Woah, Kumiko looks terrible!" Hikaru said. "What happened to her?"

"It was Ueda..." Kazumi said. "We found her in da laundromat. Akamine ain't taking it well."

"Oh god..." Minoru said. He ran over to Kumiko and took her from Takara. It looked like he was trying to comfort her, and he was probably better at it then Takara was. "But why Chiyo? She didn't do anything wrong! ...Right? I mean, she didn't seem like she'd hurt anyone."

"I don't think it matters why." Kaito said, taking deep breaths to keep himself calm. "She's dead now, and that's all that can be said."

"See?! I knew I couldn't trust any of you!" Ryouta said. "Chiyo's dead now because she wanted to trust you! You're all just waiting to stab each other in the back! All of you!"

"Shut the fuck up you pretentious prick!" Ayame said, having half the right mind to kick him where the sun didn't shine. "Can't you at least try to be receptive of someone else's feelings?!"

"So we're supposed to investigate the murder then?" Masaru asked. "But what in the world is a class trial supposed to be?"

"Ask and the answer shall reveal itself!" Monokuma said as he sat on the front desk. "Man, if I knew it would be that easy to get the murder train rolling, I'd have introduced the motive on day one! Congrats to the culprit, you know who you are! Now we can finally move on to the next act!"

"So um, what's all this about a class trial or whatever?" Arata asked.

"Well as you know, one of you brats is the culprit of this case!" Monokuma said. "And they can only graduate if they manage to hide their crime and deceive everyone else. But it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give the others a chance to determine who they thought the culprit was, so we have the class trial! I let you conduct your own investigation, and you can do whatever you want during this time. Look for clues, examine the body, even interrogate your fellow students! Then, after the investigation time has ended, we move on to the heart-pounding, breath-stopping, class trial!

"During the class trial, you all use the clues you've gathered and debate amongst one another to figure out the identity of the blackened. Then, once you've come to a conclusion as to who you think the guilty party is, you cast a vote. If you correctly guess the culprit, then they alone are punished and the rest of you can continue enjoying your vacation life! However, if you get it wrong, you all get punished instead! And the culprit will be allowed to graduate and leave!"

"Don't you think you should have told us about this beforehand or something?" Kaito asked nervously, his attempts to stay calm clearly failing. "I mean, none of us are trained for any of this stuff!"

"Oh don't worry about that. I know you kids don't have experience, which is why I serve as the judge!" Monokuma said. "I know everything about how the murder happened, so I know which one of you decided to snap! I'm also giving you one clue for free, because god knows you're gonna need it."

"What would this clue be?" Miyako asked.

"Well, I've taken the liberty of uploading it to your e-Handbook." Monokuma said. "I call it, the Monokuma File! It includes the bare details of this case. Time of death, location, method of death, it's all there! This way you're not completely clueless!"

"So the murderer really is one of us?" Shizuka asked, her nausea gone. "It wasn't you who killed her or something?"

"Oh no, it was definitely one of you." Monokuma said. "I wouldn't have you go through a class trial just because someone broke the rules! Someone among you murdered Chiyo Ueda and that's that. Anyway, you better hop to it! You're wasting precious investigation time here! I'll call you up when it's time for the trial. See ya later!" As usual, Monokuma vanished with his final words.

"We should probably take a look at this Monokuma File first." Satoshi said. "Get a good idea of what happened and all." Everyone seemed to agree, because the next minute everyone was pulling out their e-Handbooks. A new option labeled "Monokuma File" was on the screen. They selected it and read it to themselves.

**The victim was Chiyo Ueda. She was killed around approximately 8:30 p.m. last night. Her body was found in the laundromat. Cause of death is undetermined, but can be narrowed down to either blood loss or suffocation. There are wounds on her chest that she received during the attack.**

"This...isn't very helpful." Ayame said. "He doesn't even know the cause of death!"

"Still, it's better than nothing. I know I couldn't find this out on my own." Minoru said. "We know when she died and have a rough idea of how. So we don't have to try and figure out those details. Besides, it's not like Monokuma is just going to tell us everything. If we want to get through this, we have to listen to him."

"Do you even have a backbone?" Ayame asked. "You're so submissive and willing to do whatever you're told!"

"Sorry, I'm a follower not a fighter." Minoru said with a nervous laugh.

"So I'm guessin' we're all gonna split up now and all dat shit?" Kazumi asked. "I ain't no expert, but ain't dat what ya gotta do in dese murder cases? Split up ta cover more ground or whateva?"

"Actually, I think there's something we should do first." Naomi said. "We should appoint guards to Chiyo's corpse."

"Huh? Why's that?" Masaru asked.

"Say you were the culprit, you may have left something behind at the scene that would lead directly back to you." Naomi explained. "In this instance, you would want to use the investigation period to dispose of such things. But if we have guards at the scene of the crime..."

"Then the culprit can't come back to destroy anything without alerting someone!" Satoshi said with a snap of his fingers, finishing the translator's thought. "That's a great idea, Naomi!"

"Alright, so who should we post as a guard?" Arata asked.

"Jus' leave dat shit ta me!" Kazumi said. "If anyone tries ta do somethin' funny, I'll jus' knock their lights out! Alright, we got everythin' settled den?"

"No. We should have a second guard." Shigeru said.

"Wuzzat supposed ta mean?!" Kazumi said. "Ya think I ain't good enough?!"

"My personal opinions of you aside, the culprit would probably want to volunteer so they have an easier time removing evidence." Shigeru explained. "Since any one of us could be the culprit, one guard isn't enough. For once, this has nothing to do with you."

"Okay then, so who should be the other guard?" Takara asked.

"I'll do it..." Kumiko said with a sniffle. "Chi-Chi would probably be more comfortable if I were guarding her than if it were anyone else."

"Sorry, but I have to object to that." Kaito said.

"Huh? But why?" Kumiko said. "I swear I would be a good guard!"

"But you were the closest to Chiyo, meaning that you could very well be the culprit!" Kaito accused. "In fact, you're the most likely suspect!"

"Hold on a second, I have to object!" Minoru said. "Yeah, Kumiko and Chiyo were best friends and all, but I can't see Kumiko trying to kill her."

"Yeah, I mean look at how upset she is!" Masaru said. "You're telling me _she_ killed her? What's your reasoning for this?!"

"Oh come on, can't you see it? It's all a ruse!" Kaito said. "She must have called her out last night, claiming she wanted to talk, and when Chiyo's back was turned she killed her without mercy! After all, Kumiko conveniently said that Chiyo wasn't answering her door. It would only make sense if she knew she wasn't there, but hanging in the laundromat dead as a doornail!"

"Now dat ya mention it, it did feel like she was overractin' when she saw da body." Kazumi said. "She coulda easily been pulling da waterworks ta fool us."

"What are you saying?! I would never ever ever kill Chi-Chi!" Kumiko said. "You've got it all wrong! Why would I want to kill her?!"

"Why wouldn't you?" Kaito said. "That motive gave you a perfect reason to do it after all!"

"That's quite enough!" Naomi shouted. "This is better saved for the class trial! If you wankers really want to prove that she did or didn't do it, go look for some bloody evidence!"

"I, erm, sorry." Kaito said.

"Woah, I didn't think you could blow up like that, Naomi." Satoshi said.

"Sorry, it's just that we're wasting time here." Naomi said.

"I'll be the other guard if you really don't want Kumiko to do it." Hikaru said. "I mean, I'm probably not gonna be very useful while investigating and stuff."

"So it's settled then." Minoru said. "Kazumi and Hikaru will guard the crime scene while the rest of us look for evidence. Maybe now we can stop fighting and get to investigating? Please?"

"There's one more thing I want to ask." Shigeru said. "Takara, from your experience, where do you think is the best place to search for evidence?"

"Wait, huh?! Why are you asking me?!" Takara asked.

"You're a journalist aren't you? Surely you would know the best places to search for clues and evidence." Shigeru said.

"I'm no detective though!" Takara countered. "I've never looked into a murder or anything like that before!"

"You still have more experience than the rest of us do, therefore, I think you would know where to look." Shigeru said.

Takara let out a sigh of indignation. Why did he have to ask her of all people? She thought for a moment, trying to connect to her journalist instincts. "Well, if you ask me, you should check her room for anything." she said. "Maybe there was a note or something that indicated why she left. Looking around the nearby area of the laundromat isn't a bad idea either. That's all I can think of."

"Thank you. Now then, let's begin." Shigeru said. "The culprit is as good as found."

"Even though it's obvious who she is." Ryouta said, glancing at Kumiko. Everyone went their separate ways, leaving Takara in the lobby with Satoshi and Kumiko.

"I'm not the culprit though..." Kumiko said. "I would never wanna kill anybody, especially Chi-Chi."

"I know you're not." Takara said. "There's no chance it could have been you."

"Huh? How do you know?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, Chiyo's time of death was around 8:30, meanwhile I had been in Kumiko's room since eight." Takara explained. "We were there all night, and it's a solid alibi for both of us. I know she'll voucher for my innocence."

"Well if you say she's innocent, then I believe it." Satoshi said with a smile. "You wouldn't lie about these things."

"Thank you..." Kumiko said. "But how can I get the others to believe me? They're not gonna listen to you with Kai being so persistent!"

"Just leave that to me, Kumiko." Takara said. "If anyone can figure out the facts of this case, it's me. I may not be a detective, but in this situation a journalist works just as well, right?"

"And I'll help too." Satoshi said with a smile. "Why don't you just sit down for a moment and calm down. You're all worked up." Kumiko nodded her head and walked over to the restaurant.

"I'll do investigating things later." she said.

"Alright then, the first place we should look is the scene of the crime." Takara said. "That's the best place to look for evidence."

"Right behind you, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. He seriously had the guts to call her that right now?! That boy had strange priorities.

The two of them made the walk over to the laundromat in silence. Takara was still unsure that this was all happening. She even pinched herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming. Unfortunately, she was still awake and walking. She had to think about how she was going to collect evidence. It wasn't like she could just ask everyone what they were doing, at least one of them would be lying to save their own skin. Not to mention that there was just too many people to ask. Excluding herself and Kumiko, who both had alibis for each other, there were thirteen people who could be the potential culprit. Even Satoshi wasn't completely innocent. The only way she could figure things out though was to take her time and search. At the very least, she could ask two or three people about their own alibis. She actually felt lucky that her journalist skills would come in handy here. All she could ask for was that there would be enough time to collect enough evidence.

Entering the laundromat, Takara and Satoshi looked around to see who was examining the scene. Kazumi and Hikaru were positioned near the body, though that was to be expected. Minoru was also standing next to it, examining the body thoroughly. Surprisingly, Shizuka was there as well, looking around the area. Finally, Naomi was searching around the washing machines.

"Alright, where should we start?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, I think we should see if anyone else has found anything of interest and then move on from there." Takara said. "And if we can, we should see if anyone here has an alibi or not. Then we can take a look around ourselves."

"Great idea, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said.

"I told you to stop calling me that." Takara said, trying not to get mad. "Besides, this is serious. At least pretend this is a big deal here." The journalist first walked over to Chiyo's body, where Kazumi, Hikaru, and Minoru stood. While doing so, she glanced up above her and saw the clothes from yesterday hanging above on the clotheslines. Whoever came here last night, they obviously weren't the owner of those clothes. But just to make sure... "Hey Hikaru, mind if I ask you a question?" she asked.

Hikaru looked at her curiously. "If you're asking me if I found anything then I'm not gonna be any help." he said.

"No, that's not it." Takara said. "Those clothes hanging on the clotheslines, are they yours?"

Hikaru glanced up, looking at the garments intently. "Yep, those are mine." he said. "I was doing laundry the other day and left it here overnight to dry. I don't trust the dryers, nothing beats the good old fashioned way in my opinion! I meant to grab 'em yesterday, but with all the crazy stuff that happened I must have forgotten. Not like I would've left Ayame's room to grab them anyway, it was too risky."

"Wait, you were in Ayame's room?" Takara asked. That could serve as an alibi! "When were you there?"

"Well, right after Monokuma announced the motive." Hikaru answered, trying to recall. "I was there all night too. It got too late to go back to my room when the nighttime announcement came, plus I didn't wanna look suspicious."

"Ya mean ya went dere even though she could'a killed ya?" Kazumi asked. "Dat ain't very bright if ya ask me."

"Actually, I don't think she would've attacked him in her own room." Satoshi said. "It would pin her down as the obvious culprit. So Hikaru was pretty safe."

"Oh, yeah, I guess he would'a been fine." Kazumi said. "Jus' ignore what I said den!"

"So you have an alibi for last night?" Takara asked.

"Yep, you can even ask Ayame herself if you don't believe me." Hikaru said. "We were there all night and didn't leave until the morning announcement."

That left four people with alibis. Unless Hikaru was lying of course. But then again, he wouldn't have said to ask Ayame unless he was certain about it. "What about you then, Kazumi?" Takara asked. "Where were you last night?"

"Restaurant." Kazumi said. "I was really fuckin' hungry, so I grabbed Matsuki an' went ta get somethin' ta eat. It was before da murder happened, but we were dere fer a few hours."

"Was anyone else there?" Takara asked.

"I know Nishioka was in da kitchen, dat place is like 'is fuckin' lair or some shit." Kazumi said. "I think some other people were dere, but I don' remember who. Shizuka would know dat better then I would. She's da kinda person who pays attention to dese things."

So that gave them at least three more alibis. There wasn't another reason to talk to either guard, so it was time to move on to the veterinarian examining the body. "I didn't think you were good at examining bodies, Minoru." Takara said.

"Oh no, that's not it at all." Minoru insisted. "I only have basic medical knowledge when it comes to people, but I figured that I could at least try to determine what the cause of death was. I want to be helpful here, you know? And what I found was very interesting." He moved his hand towards Chiyo's chest area, revealing a small rip in the fabric of her dress. "See this? There are more like it around this area, I'd say ten at least. My guess is that they're from the attack. Judging by the size and number of holes though, I doubt the weapon used is anything standard. They're too small to even be made by a butter knife, and the wounds probably aren't that deep. So I think we can rule out blood loss as her death cause."

"I don't even see any blood on her." Satoshi said. "You'd think that there would be some kind of stain, even the smallest one."

"Maybe the culprit cleaned off the blood once she was dead or something." Takara said as she tried to get a closer look at the dress. Suddenly, her nose picked up a scent coming from the spot with all the holes. It was stronger the closer she got to the body, but it was there. And it wasn't the scent of a dead body. "Wait, does anyone smell something strange?" she asked.

"All I smell is a dead body." Kazumi said.

"No, not like that. Though it is coming from the body." Takara said. "Here, come closer." She motioned for the vocalist to come closer. Kazumi put her nose close to the spot, sniffing for what Takara was talking about.

"Wait, I do smell somethin'!" The vocalist said. "I don' know what it is, but it ain't dead person stench."

Minoru took a whiff as well, trying to figure out the smell. "It's certainly familiar, but I can't quite place it." he said. "It may have to do with why there's no blood here. It's a good thing you noticed that, Takara! It's bound to mean something and I wouldn't have found it myself."

"We can worry about that later, I guess." Satoshi said. "Anything else you found?"

"Well this noose is definitely interesting to look at." Minoru said. "It's not your typical noose, that's for sure. Most nooses are made with rope or nylon, but this one isn't. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure this is fabric."

"Maybe the culprit didn't have time to find a rope or something and had to improvise." Takara said. She took a close look at the noose, taking in the details. "From the looks of it, I'd say it's a black jacket of some kind."

"Which means that either the culprit used their laundry to hang her," Satoshi said. "Or they took Chiyo's cloak from her and used that."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it that does make a lot of sense." Minoru said. "We _are_ in a laundromat after all. So of course the noose would be made out of clothes. Why didn't I think of that?"

"It's probably safe to say this was also used to suffocate her." Satoshi said. "All you'd need is something to cover her nose and mouth, or something to wrap around her neck. Either way, the garment of clothing could do just that."

"Regardless, I think we know which way she died." Takara said. "However, the fact that blood loss was a possibility doesn't make it unimportant to this case. We should find this strange weapon if possible." Hopefully, it was still here hidden somewhere. And the smell on the body was definitely something to keep in mind. And why didn't Monokuma list the way she died? He saw it all, wouldn't he have known? This wasn't the time to get distracted though, she still needed more evidence. "Is that all you've found, Minoru?"

"It is, though I think Shizuka can give you more than I did." Minoru said. "She was looking at the body too, even though she seemed a bit unsettled by it, so I think she might have found something I couldn't. I'm not gonna be much help otherwise."

"I didn't expect her to come back here after the way she reacted earlier." Takara said, recalling the image of the painter knelled on the ground. "She looked like she was going to throw up."

"Well, she seems to be more composed now." Satoshi said. "Maybe we could ask her about it."

"I don't want to spend too much time talking to people, so let's make things quick." Takara said. The pair walked over to the painter, who was hunched over looking at something on the ground. "You doing alright there?" Takara asked. "You didn't look well when I came here earlier."

Shizuka stood up off the ground and turned to Takara and Satoshi. "Don't worry about it, I'm alright now." she said with a reassuring smile. "I always get nauseous around dead bodies, I've been that way ever since I was little. But after a while I'm able to get used to it enough to be in the same room. And in this case, I needed to be around the body so I could find a few clues."

"That reminds me, Minoru said you were looking at Chiyo's body a minute ago." Takara said. "Did you find anything interesting there?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I did manage to find a few blood spots on her dress." Shizuka said. "They were pretty small though, I was lucky enough to catch it."

"I didn't see any blood spots on her." Satoshi said. "Her entire dress was clean of it."

"At first glance it appears that way, but when you take a closer look it becomes clear that it isn't." Shizuka said. "I'll prove it to you." She walked over to Naomi. "Hey Naomi, can I borrow your glasses for just a sec'? I need it for something important."

The translator looked puzzled for a moment, but shrugged and did as asked. "Just give them back once you're done. I can't see without them and I'm trying to look for the weapon." she said, handing over the glasses.

"Alright, now come over here." Shizuka said as she placed the glasses close to the dress. "See, look here. It's not easy to see, but there's a few spots of red right there." Looking through the glass, Takara was able to see tiny spots of blood that were almost unnoticeable.

"How _did_ you find this?" she asked.

"An artist must have an acute sense of detail." Shizuka said. "But that's not all I noticed." Before continuing, she walked back over to Naomi and returned her glasses. "Now you were just mentioning there was a strange smell on Chiyo's body, right? I think I know what it might be."

"Well, what is it?" Takara asked.

"You see, I noticed that there was a spot on the dress that was slightly darker than the rest of it." Shizuka explained. "I picked up the scent and realized that the smell put together with the coloration could only mean one thing. Someone, probably the culprit, poured ink over her dress."

"Ink?" Satoshi asked. "Are you sure about that?"

"I'm around art supplies all the time, I know the scent of ink when I smell it." Shizuka said.

"The culprit must have poured it to cover up the rest of the blood on her." Takara said.

"It's not the only place they were trying to hide it." Shizuka said. "The spot of the floor you saw me looking at is another place the culprit tried to cover up. I'll let you look at it yourself though, it wouldn't be fair if you were given all the answers, you know?"

"Fair enough." Takara said. "One last thing though, you and Kazumi were in the restaurant last night, was anyone else there?"

"Yeah, there were." Shizuka said. "Masaru was in the kitchen, and Shigeru and Naomi were there when we showed up. Someone else came in, but they left pretty quickly after they ate so I don't think they matter."

"That's alright, that's all I needed to know." Takara said.

"I think it's time we made a search of our own." Satoshi said. "Let's see if we can find anything else."

"Alright. We should try to find the weapon while we're at it." Takara said. She first looked in the area Shizuka had pointed out. She found a small, faint red stain. From the looks of it, someone had attempted to clean it up. They did a pretty crappy job of it though. Still, it seemed like the culprit was very adamant in trying to get rid of any traces of blood. Combined with the fact that Chiyo's body had been hanged, it seemed like they wanted everyone to believe she committed suicide. But it was becoming more clear that that wasn't the case.

Just to be certain though, Takara checked the area around the body to make sure. There was nothing around that Chiyo could have stood on in order to reach the pipes, considering the ceiling had to have been about eight feet tall at least. All the chairs in the building were lined up against a wall near the door, so it had to have been someone else who moved her.

Going over to the washing machines, Takara hoped to find some laundry inside of them. Almost every machine turned out to be empty, except for one. One of the machines contained a number of damp, black clothing. Taking some of it out to examine it, the journalist was able to tell that all of it belonged to the victim. One article she found was Chiyo's cloak. Which means that the noose was indeed the culprit's clothing. She set the damp clothing back inside and moved on to the dryers. Considering that Hikaru's clothes were all on the clotheslines, the dryers were the only way to dry off laundry.

Unfortunately for her, each machine was empty. She would have taken anything, any shred of evidence that proved her theory correct. As luck would have it, the very last machine she checked had one item of clothing in it. A single pair of white socks. They were completely dry, meaning they had to have been left here by the culprit.

From what she could gather so far, Takara guessed that the culprit was in a hurry to kill Chiyo, cover up his tracks, and run. However, they were so rushed that they left a few things behind. But there was still no sign of the weapon. Deciding to see if Satoshi found anything, she happened to notice something shining in the light on the ground. It was lying among the pieces of Chiyo's necklace. Picking it up, she noticed it was a small pen nib covered in blood at the tip. Looking around the floor, she hoped to find the other piece. Sticking out from underneath one of the machines, she saw something long and brown. Taking it out revealed it was the rest of the pen. Sticking the nib in it proved to be a perfect match. And if this was what she thought it was, she had just found the weapon used to stab Chiyo.

"Hey Naomi, I think found the weapon." Takara said.

The translator walked over and looked at the pen. "Well it's not what I would use, but it looks like the only possibility." Naomi said. "The only question is who it belongs to."

"What do you mean?" Takara asked.

"Off the top of my head, I can think of four people who would use this kind of pen." Naomi said. "Kumiko, Arata, Shigeru, and Kaito. Of course, that doesn't mean it makes any of them the culprit. One of them could have left it here on accident allowing the culprit to use it. But the most likely theory is that it belongs to one of them."

Kumiko, Arata, Shigeru, and Kaito. Takara eliminated the possibility of Kumiko, as she already had enough evidence to support that she was innocent. But she made a note to ask her about it when she saw her again. She would also have to ask the other three about it as well. Even though Shigeru seemed to have an alibi, his name wasn't clear just yet. "Thanks, Naomi." she said, taking the pen back and walking back over to Satoshi. "You find anything?"

"Actually, yes!" Satoshi said with a smile. "There's something in the trash. Well it's more like a few somethings, but you know what I mean."

"Alright, what was in there?" Takara asked.

"The first thing I found was a bunch of paper towels with blood on them." Satoshi said. "The victim definitely was trying to clean up their mess. But that's not the important thing."

"What could be more important than bloody paper towels?" Takara asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Easy. It's this." Satoshi said as he revealed a talisman with a spot of blood on it. This looked just like the ones Chiyo had been giving out earlier!

"Is this Chiyo's talisman, or is it the culprit's?" Takara asked.

"Chiyo has her own in her pocket, I checked already." Satoshi said. "So this must belong to the culprit! Whoever is missing their talisman must be the blackened."

"We can't go around asking who's missing one though, I feel like we don't got the time for it." Takara said. "This could be important to bring up during the trial though. Just so I can be safe, show me yours." Satoshi pointed to his goggles, showing the journalist the talisman he tied onto it.

"I thought it would be safe if I put it here." Satosi said. "Yours is already on your bag, so I know you're safe. Still, I can't believe someone threw it away. Aren't you supposed to burn these if you want to get rid of it?"

"So the legends say." Takara said. "Otherwise it'll bring you bad luck."

"Boy, I'd hate to be the blackened right now. They're probably in a lot of trouble right now." Satoshi joked.

"This isn't the time for fun and games, you know!" Takara said. "I think we've found everything of importance here. Let's move on, I have some people I need to find."

"Oh? What for?" Satoshi asked.

"I need to find the owner of a certain pen." Takara said, walking towards the door.

**15 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	10. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Deadly Life II (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that! Two updates in a row! Turns out this part wasn't as long as I thought it would be. I'm excited to get to the trial, even if the culprit is a bit obvious. But then again it is Chapter 1, the first culprit is supposed to be a little obvious. Oh well. I'll be making things harder later on, so enjoy the easy case while you can!

Satoshi and Takara made their way back to the hotel. There weren't many people searching around the other areas near the scene of the crime, and the people who were searching were not the ones the journalist was looking for. Not to mention they hadn't found much that could be useful to the case anyway. So it was back to the hotel to find the owner of the pen. "Alright, where to first?" Satoshi asked.

"We should go to Kumiko." Takara said. "I know she's innocent and all, but I want to be completely sure that she didn't leave the weapon on accident."

"She's probably still in the restaurant." Satoshi said. "It's a good idea for us to check up on her anyway. Make sure she's okay and all."

"Yeah, we should." Takara said. The two entered the restaurant, finding Kumiko sitting at a table with Masaru and eating. They didn't notice the pair walk in. The comic artist looked better than she did at the beginning of the investigation, but it was obvious that she was still upset. "Hey Kumiko, you feeling any better?" Takara asked, taking a seat at the table.

Kumiko looked up from her plate with red, puffy eyes. They must have gotten that way from all the crying. "As much as I can be." she said sadly. It didn't sound right for her to sound like that. It felt like all of her energy was gone. It just seemed unnatural.

"What are you doing here, Masaru?" Satoshi asked. "I haven't seen you since we all split up to investigate."

"I've been here the whole time." Masaru said. "The thing is, I don't think I'd be much of a help in the investigation. So I thought I'd stay here just in case someone got hungry. I already had breakfast prepared and everything, it would be a shame for it all to go to waste. Especially since I made it special. When I saw Kumiko walk in here, I thought I'd help her in whatever way I could. Even if that meant sitting here in silence."

"Since you're here, I want to confirm something." Takara said. "Kazumi and Shizuka told me you were in the kitchen last night at the time of the murder. Is this true?"

"Yeah. I was in there before anyone else came in." Masaru said. "Shigeru, Naomi, Shizuka, and Kazumi were all there at the same time, but they all left before I did. I was here looking through the stock so I knew I had what I needed to make breakfast. I stayed until nighttime and didn't leave once."

"Did anyone aside from those four come in?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, one other person came here but..." Masaru said, uncertain how to answer. "That person... isn't with us anymore..." So Chiyo came here before she was murdered.

"Do you know what time it was when she came?" Takara asked.

"I wasn't looking at the clock all that much, but she came here around eight." Masaru recalled. "Though she had to eat and run, she was in a huge hurry to leave for some reason. If I had to guess, she was only here for ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops. I don't know why she left though. Someone else might be able to tell you."

"It's fine, that's all I needed to know." Takara said. "Kumiko, I need to ask you something important."

"Hm?" Kumiko said, her mouth full of food.

Takara took out the blood-tipped pen and set it on the table. "I found this at the murder scene." she said. "I know you didn't kill her, but I wanted to make sure that you didn't leave this there before the murder happened. Does this pen look at all familiar to you?"

Kumiko swallowed her food and looked at the pen intensely. After examining it closely, she set the pen back on the table. "Nope. I don't use these kind of pens." Kumiko said. "It takes too long when you have to constantly dip it in ink over and over again. I don't have the time or patience for it."

That eliminated any shred of involvement Kumiko had with this case. She was clearly spotless. "Thanks for cooperating, Kumiko." Takara said. "I know how hard this is for you right now. Do you think you're up to investigating?"

"I think once I'm done eating I should be good to go." Kumiko said.

"Alright. Satoshi, you stay with her and tell her what you know." Takara said. "I feel like there isn't much time left for me to get what I need."

"Aww, but I want to help you." Satoshi said in disappointment.

"And you've been a big help so far, but someone needs to bring Kumiko up to speed and all." Takara said. "Besides, you'd be helping me by doing that."

"Well alright..." Satoshi said, clearly unhappy with the situation. "Good luck getting what you need!"

Waving good-bye to the archaeologist, Takara left the restaurant. Walking out into the lobby, she spotted Shigeru walking down the stairs. Perfect timing. "Hey, Shigeru, can I talk to you for a second?" she said.

The composer turned his head with a smirk. "If you're here to ask me about what I found, you're out of luck." he said. "You should be looking for these clues yourself."

"No, that's not what I want." Takara said. Did he really have to play the jerkass card right now? "I just want to know if this pen looks familiar to you." She pulled out the pen, showing it to him.

"I'll admit, I do use dip pens." Shigeru said. "But I only use them when I'm writing down a new piece. Otherwise, I stick to ordinary pens."

"Have you needed to use one of these in the past few days?" Takara asked, hoping to get a straightforward answer this time.

"No, I've kept all of mine in my belongings." Shigeru said. "This obviously belongs to someone else. Is that all you wanted? I'd like to continue my investigation, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, yeah, you can go." Takara said. She thought to herself that she wouldn't want to keep talking to him anyway. The two went their separate ways as the journalist climbed the stairs. There was only one place left for her to look, and that was Chiyo's room. To her surprise, the door was already open. "How did anyone get in?" she asked.

"Oh, I did that!" Monokuma said. Great, another surprise appearance from the bear.

"What do you want?" Takara asked.

"Oh relax, I'm just here to tell you that during an investigation all doors are unlocked for your convenience!" he said. "If you had all these locked off areas, well that would just make it that much harder to find clues! I'm not about to make you pilfer Chiyo's room key from her lifeless corpse you know!" With a wicked laugh, Monokuma left. Though at least what he had to say was useful.

"All doors are unlocked for investigation purposes..." she muttered to herself. She had to remember that just in case it came in handy later. She walked into the deceased medium's room. Ayame, Kaito, and Arata were all in there. The room itself had a strange air to it, though that could have been the appearance of it. The walls and door were completely covered by seals, probably to keep any unwanted spirits away. The room had a number of books on spirits sitting around, along with items that would be more appropriate to find in a shrine. On one of the nightstands was an incense burner. Takara had no idea what to expect from Chiyo's room, but she was still shocked. And it must have shown on her face.

"I know right, she could have really used an interior decorator." Arata said.

"I knew Chiyo was a bit creepy, but this is just beyond creepy if you ask me." Kaito said, unsettled by something. "And I've watched western animation that's purposely meant to be creepy."

"Will you both shut up? You're here to look for clues, not to criticize Chiyo's room. Quit disrespecting the dead and actually do something!" Ayame said.

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for clues too though?" Takara asked as the football player didn't budge from where she was standing.

"I only came in here because I didn't trust those two alone in a girl's room." Ayame said. "Even if they're not perverts, I don't trust guys to go looking through Chiyo's stuff."

"Fair enough." Takara said. "Have they found anything of use yet?"

"Well, they said that there's definitely no note or anything the culprit had sent to her." Ayame explained. "So Chiyo wasn't called out or anything like that. She was taken by surprise. All her clothes are gone too, except for a miko outfit in the closet over there. So she was definitely just trying to do laundry. It's not much, but I guess it's all we got."

Takara already knew about the laundry scenario, but the lack of a note helped support the idea that this crime was unplanned. The only question left was who the culprit was. Remembering what she came here to do, she approached the animator and designer. "Hey, you two, could you give me a minute of your time?"

The two boys stopped what they were doing and walked over to Takara. "Yes, what is it?" Arata asked.

Takara once again took out the pen and showed it to them. "This pen was found at the scene." she explained. "We think that it may have been used in the attack against Chiyo. Do either of you recognize it at all?"

"I do use these pens when I'm making my designs," Arata said. "But only after I've finalized the sketch to my liking."

"I only use dip pens when I can't find my other pens." Kaito said, his eyes darting around the room as he spoke.

"Could this belong to either of you though?" Takara asked.

"I have taken my pens out since we arrived here, but I'm not sure if this is one of mine or not." Arata said.

"I can't tell either." Kaito said. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if yet another one of my pens went missing without me knowing it."

"Are you feeling okay?" Takara asked. "You've been really freaked out since this morning."

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Honest!" Kaito insisted. "I'm just nervous about this whole class trial thing you know? I mean, we could all die if we get it wrong, how is that not nerve inducing? Not to mention being in this room is just freaking me out. I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible if you don't mind."

Takara could understand where he was coming from, they had a one in fifteen chance of guessing the killer after all, but there was just something about his behavior that felt off. Though she couldn't place it. Was that really why he was so nervous? Then again, Ryouta tended to act the same way constantly so who knows? Figuring that there was no need for her to stay here any longer, Takara made her way towards the door and decided to leave. Not long after she left, the monitor nearby turned on and showed Monokuma's face.

"So, um, I'm getting bored from waiting. What say we just get started, hm?" he said. So the investigation was over. What were they supposed to do now? "It's time for the long awaited... Class trial! Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Some of you may know that there's a pathway behind the hotel. Please follow that pathway until you reach the mountain that graces this beautiful resort! Upupupu, see you soon!" The screen shut off.

"The path is going to lead us to the trial then. But why the mountain?" Takara asked herself. Going down the stairs and out the door, she moved to the back of the building and saw the pathway Kazumi and Ayame had spoken of. There was nowhere else to go, so she made her way down the path. It felt like she was walking forever until she finally reached the end. There was a small clearing standing in front of her, where all the other students were waiting. Towering over the clearing was the mountain of the resort. She had only ever gotten glances of it from the storefronts, but seeing it up close just made it more empowering and intimidating. The entrance to a cave was directly in sight. Was that where they were supposed to go?

"It seems that Tsukuda has finally arrived." Arata said.

"I guess that makes all of us then." Shizuka said. "Now what do we do?"

Monokuma appeared in the middle of the clearing. "I can see you kiddies are all ready to go! Excellent! All you have to do is go through that cave there!" he said, pointing towards the cave entrance. "You'll find a transport inside that will take you to the courtroom, where we will hold the class trial!"

"How did you manage to make a courtroom in there?" Naomi asked.

"Sorry, that's my own little secret!" Monokuma said. "Upupu, I can't wait to watch this trial. It'll be like opening night for a hot new show at the theater! Anyway, please enter the cave immediately! I don't want to be kept waiting any longer! See you at the courtroom!" And once again, he was gone.

"So this is it." Shigeru said, staring at the cave. "Might as well get things over with. This will be interesting."

"You can't hide anymore, Kumiko, your crime will be revealed for what it truly is!" Kaito said.

"I've already told you, I didn't do it!" Kumiko shouted.

"A likely story. All criminals try to worm their way out of guilt. And we're going to prove it was you!" Ryouta said.

"How 'bout y'all shut the fuck up an' get in the damn cave already?!" Kazumi yelled, her hands balled into fists. Everyone quickly went inside. Takara made her way towards the entrance, but was stopped by Satoshi.

"Don't worry about it, we got this in the bag Kara-chan." he said with a smile. There was no point in even correcting him this time. "I think we have plenty of evidence to show that Kumiko is innocent, and to catch the real killer."

"That's not what I'm worried about though." Takara said. "What worries me more is the idea that no matter what happens in there, someone isn't coming back out."

"Don't go thinking about that, okay?" Satoshi said. "Let's go inside before someone yells at us."

Without another word, the duo walked inside the cave. It was surprisingly well lit, plenty of lights sitting against the walls and ceiling. The rest of the students weren't far behind. At the end of the cave was a large platform resting on top of a set of tracks. With nowhere else to go, the students walked onto it. Thankfully there was just enough room for all fifteen of them. The platform had a fencepost around it, most likely to keep everyone from falling off while it was in motion. At the very end were two buttons, each with an arrow on them. One button, which had an arrow facing forwards, was flashing green. It was as if it was shouting at the students "push me!". With a slight bit of hesitation, Takara walked over and pressed the button, and before long they felt themselves move along the track.

The tension among them was high, no one even dared to speak. But what else could you say in a situation like this? Fifteen students were going in, but only fourteen would return. Someone among them was Chiyo Ueda's murderer. Chiyo... She was so polite and kind, she only had everyone else's safety in mind. Why would someone want to kill her? Takara squeezed the talisman left behind from her for good luck, hopefully Chiyo's spirit was watching them and cheering them on. Without warning, the platform began to move faster. It felt like only a moment had passed when it finally stopped, but it had probably been longer. A small docking station was waiting for them, a set of doors were sitting behind it. That must be where the courtroom was.

Everyone got off the platform and walked towards the doors. No one dared to open them at first. They all needed a moment to compose themselves. This wasn't going to be easy. Finally, Takara reached towards the doors and pushed them open, showering them all in a bright light. This was it, there was no more time for stalling. They had to face all of this sooner or later whether they wanted to or not. The students walked through the doors, the curtain of the first class trial rising. The first class trial of life and death.

**15 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	11. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Class Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually had the entire first trial written up and ready to go, since I had figured out things a few months back. Because of this, there's gonna be three updates this week! I'm actually going to spend this time writting up a draft of the next trial to make things easier on myself, that way I can go back and edit it if I need to. Anyway, let's begin the class trial!

Takara and the others stepped through the doors, finding themselves face to face with a makeshift courtroom. The purple walls were lined with black curtains, reminding everyone that Chiyo was no longer with them. The floor was covered with red velvet rugs. A circle of podiums rested in the middle of the room, while Monokuma sat in a throne opposite of the elevator doors. "Ah good! You've all made it here!"the bear joyfully said. "Now then, please locate the podium with your name on it, and we can begin the trial!"

"So ya weren' kiddin' 'bout this whole trial thing were ya?" Kazumi asked.

"Well of course not! What point would I have of sending you kiddies out to investigate if I wasn't going to keep my word about the trial?" Monokuma said.

"I was hopin' it was all some kinda sick joke." Kazumi said.

"Now now, just hurry up and take your places! We need to get this trial rolling after all!" Monokuma announced. The fifteen students made their way over to each podium marked with their names. Takara found herself placed in between Kaito and Shizuka. Across from her she could see Satoshi smiling at her. He obviously wasn't worried about losing this trial and possibly being executed. Takara began to wonder what was wrong with that boy. Takara noticed that the way the podiums were placed allowed for everyone in the room to see each other's faces. And it didn't take her very long to notice the strange thing in the one podium where no one stood.

"Hey, Monokuma," Takara began, pointing over to the irregular podium. "What the hell is that thing supposed to be?" In between Satoshi and Miyako, in the place of Chiyo Ueda, was a photo of her attached to a stand. It almost looked like the photographs used to represent a dead person at a funeral. The only difference was the big red X on the frame.

"What, that?" Monokuma asked innocently. "Well it certainly isn't fair for Chiyo to miss out on the trial just because she died! After all, doesn't friendship last even beyond death?"

"You disgust me." Naomi said with disdain.

"Well, if there are no more questions, let's begin with an explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma said. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then only they will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened! And the one who deceived everyone else will graduate. Now then, I'll leave you kiddos to it!"

"First off, we should review what we already know and go from there." Shigeru said.

"Who put you in charge?" Ayame asked.

"Ayame, this is not the time for that. We need to work together to work out the culprit." Hikaru said, trying to calm down the football player. "Besides, I think Shigeru is on the right track here."

"...Fine, whatever." Ayame said.

"Now then, if I may continue," Shigeru said, clearly getting irritated.

"The victim of this case was Chiyo Ueda. According to the Monokuma file, she was killed around 8:30 p.m. last night in the laundromat. Her exact cause of death has yet to be determined, but can be narrowed down to either loss of blood or suffocation. These are the absolute facts. With that in mind, where should we go from here?"

"I think we should narrow down the number of culprits." Satoshi said, his usual carefree tone replaced with a more serious one. "At this point in time, we don't have any possible leads as to who killed Chiyo. And unless we can figure out who has an alibi and who doesn't, I feel like we won't be going anywhere."

"You know, he's got a good point there." Shizuka said.

"Why should we?! It's totally obvious who did it!" Kaito said. "The only possible culprit is Kumiko! She's the only person who could even get close to her, so she'd have an easy shot at killing her!"

"I've already told you, I didn't do it!" Kumiko shouted, tears in her eyes. "I would never kill Chi-Chi! She was my best friend in the whole world! Why would I ever want to kill her?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ryouta said. "The motive was enough to get to you, so you figured it was the perfect chance to end your friendship with Chiyo by killing her and leaving the rest of us to die!"

"That's crazy! I couldn't do something nasty like that even if I wanted to!" Kumiko said, her voice turning into sobs. She didn't understand why she was the one being accused of killing her best friend.

"That's enough!" Takara shouted. "Kumiko couldn't have killed Chiyo!"

"There's no room for the benefit of the doubt here, Tsukuda." Arata said. "While I'm not about to place my judgement, Akamine is just as likely as any of us to be the culprit."

"That's not what I meant." Takara said. "I know for a fact that she couldn't have been in the laundromat at the time the murder took place."

"Why don't you elaborate?" Naomi asked.

"I was in her room half an hour before the time of the murder, and had been there until the nighttime announcement. It's a solid alibi and we were nowhere near the scene of the crime." Kumiko nodded in agreement as she tried to dry her tears.

"Wait a sec, what were you doing in her room?" Shizuka asked.

"Turns out the doors at the end of our rooms lead to another room directly next door." Takara said. "My door lead to Kumiko's room, and the two of us ended up spending time playing video games."

"So we all have a roommate basically?" Masaru asked. "That's pretty cool!"

"It also allows us easy access to murder someone in the dead of night!" Ryouta said.

"But dat would make it obvious who da killer was, wouldn' it?" Kazumi asked. "No one here is stupid enough for dat."

"I never thought I'd hear something intelligent coming from someone uncultured like you." Shigeru smirked.

"Da fuck does dat mean?!" Kazumi shouted.

"Um, I really don't think we have time for this!" Shizuka shouted. "We need to get back on track here!"

"She's right. So then, out of the thirteen of us who haven't given one, who has a solid alibi for 8:30 last night?" Shigeru asked. "Might as well get this all out of the way. It'll give us all a chance to hear everyone's excuses."

"Me and Hikaru were in my room last night." Ayame admitted. "We spent the whole night together and that's all that matters."

"It looks to me like there's something more to your story there, Ishikawa." Arata said, a smug grin on his face.

Ayame's face flushed red at his comment. "What we do in the privacy of our rooms is none of your damn business!"Ayame shouted, gripping her podium with all her strength.

"See, I told you he was a pervert!" Kumiko cried.

"Would you stop calling me that?!" Arata said

"Can we please move on?" Shigeru said, his eye beginning to twitch.

"Well, Kazumi and I were in the restaurant eating dinner around that time, and both Shigeru and Naomi were there at the same time." Shizuka said. "I also remember that Masaru had been in the kitchen before any of us had gotten there, and was still there when we left."

"Yeah, I was in there until the nighttime announcement." Masaru confirmed.

"And just what were you doing in there?" Ryouta asked, suspicion in his voice as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, after the announcement of the motive it felt like everyone was tense." Masaru explained. "I thought that I would go over what was in the kitchen so I could make something special for breakfast. If you're trying to imply that I would poison someone then you're sorely mistaken. I would never soil food in such a blasphemous manner! "

"So that leaves nine people with alibis." Minoru said. "Meanwhile, Arata, Satoshi, Miyako, Kaito, Ryouta, and myself are the most likely suspects."

"Wait, hold on a second!" Kaito said. "How do we know that none of them are lying? For all we know, two of them worked together and killed Chiyo in order to escape together! No one is innocent just yet!"

"Even if what you're saying is true Kaito, that still leaves five people with alibis. Kazumi, Shizuka, Masaru, Shigeru, and myself were all in the same area at the time of the murder." Naomi said.

"But what about Takara and Kumiko? Or Ayame and Hikaru?" Kaito asked. "There's a complete possibility that either pair worked together. I'm not convinced that Kumiko is innocent yet."

"Why not ask the bear?" Miyako said, having finally saying something since the start of the investigation.

"Alright." Shigeru said. "Monokuma, is there any reason for someone to team up with another in order to commit murder?"

"Ehhh, nope!" Monokuma asked. "An accomplice has nothing to gain from assisting a culprit in murder! Only the student who committed the crime can graduate."

"So there is nothing to gain then." Shigeru said with a smirk.

"But we didn't know that until just now!" Kaito argued. "For all we know two people did team up."

"He's got a point." Ryouta says. "Someone could have assisted the killer in Chiyo's murder."

"Oy, Monokuma!" Kazumi said. "Was there anyone helpin' da culprit or not?"

"I don't think he's going to tell you outright, Kazumi..." Masaru said.

"Actually, we don't need to ask him." Satoshi said.

"And how are ya so certain 'bout that?" Kazumi asked.

"Because after investigating the crime scene, I can say that this crime was not planned beforehand. It was done on the spot, with no warning."

"That doesn't prove anything." Naomi said. "Just because it wasn't planned doesn't eliminate the possibility that two people did it."

"Alright, you got me there Naomi." Satoshi said, his usual personality shining through for a moment. "But Kara-chan and I have proof that can tell you there was only one culprit."

"Kara-chan...?" Arata asked, trying to hold back snickers.

"He's talking about me." Takara said, clearly irritated that Satoshi continued to use that nickname. She shot a quick glare at him, but all he did was smile back. Takara heard someone in the courtroom giggle slightly, probably Kumiko.

"Just what is this proof that you two found?" Shigeru asked.

"Well, if you're worried about Hikaru being a possible suspect, I can tell you that he was never in the laundromat yesterday." Takara said. "I had been there earlier to do my own laundry and his clothes were hanging up on the clotheslines. When I investigated the scene of the crime, I noticed that they were still there. I think that proves his alibi is solid."

"Oh yeah. I've been meaning to grab those." Hikaru said, laughing sheepishly. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't or it coulda been me there, huh?"

"That isn't much though." Shizuka said. "Just because he didn't pick up his laundry doesn't mean he's innocent."

"Well there's still more where that came from." Takara said.

"In order to explain, I think we should move on to the subject of how Chiyo died." Satoshi said.

"But you're the one who wanted to eliminate suspects in the first place!" Ayame said. "Why are you trying to move away from the subject at hand?"

"No, Satoshi is right." Takara said. "The only way to do this is to talk about her death."

"Where should we begin then?" Ryouta asked. "You must have somewhere to go off of."

"First off, did anyone see Chiyo right before she died?" Satoshi asked. "I think that's a good place to start."

"I think I passed by her before going to my room or something?" Kumiko said, trying to remember the night before. "But that was waaaaay before her death so that probably doesn't count!" Even in this situation, the comic artist managed to smile and be energetic just slightly.

"Like I said, Hikaru and I were in my room all night." Ayame answered. "The last time either of us had seen her had been during the motive announcement."

"Oh! I saw her!" Naomi said. "She came into the restaurant around eight and sat down with me and Shigeru to eat dinner."

"Yes, she definitely came in and sat with us." Shigeru said.

"Yeah, I remember seeing her walk in as well!" Shizuka added.

"Funny, I don' remember seein' her." Kazumi said.

"That's probably because you were too busy stuffing your face with food to remember." Shigeru said.

"Wuzzat supposed to mean?!" Kazumi asked. "You wanna start somethin', music boy?"

"Ahh, Kazumi calm down!" Shizuka said.

"Anyway, do you remember what she did while she was there, Naomi?" Takara asked.

"Well, she walked in around 8 and grabbed something to eat from the kitchen." Naomi began. "She sat down at the same table that me and Shigeru were at and didn't talk much. She mostly just ate in silence and made a few comments. Once she was done, she immediately left the dining hall. She couldn't have been there for more than fifteen minutes."

"Did she say anything about why she left?" Satoshi asked.

"Actually, she did." Shizuka said. "I asked her why she was leaving in such a hurry and she said she was going to bed early for the night. Something about how she was sensing a dangerous air and wanted to avoid being in trouble. Anyway, she did mention though that she needed to do her laundry first, because she was out of clean clothes. That's all she said before wishing us a good night. In fact, that's why I went to check the laundromat first. I was worried that something had happened to her while she was there..."

"And no one in the restaurant left during that time, is that it?" Satoshi said, wishing to confirm his point.

"Correct. All five of us didn't leave until about an hour after she left, with the exception of Masaru." Shigeru said. "But as we've already established, he had been there until nighttime began."

"And no one else knew where she was going?" Takara asked, referring to the six without alibis.

"Um, no. I had no idea." Kaito said.

"I didn't." Arata said.

"No." Miyako said, getting straight to the point.

"Not at all." Minoru said.

"Of course not!" Ryouta said, angry at the idea he was being accused.

"Nope." Satoshi said.

"Well then, I guess that answers that question." Shizuka said.

"Wait a second, that doesn't prove anything!" Kaito said.

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Considering that Hikaru and Ayame had been in Ayame's room all night since the motive announcement there's no way they would have known. Me and Kumiko had been hanging out in her own room so we didn't even see Chiyo, let alone know where she was going."

"What's your point? Get to it already." Kaito said.

"If her death had been planned beforehand, that would mean the culprit knew where she would be. Since no one aside from the people in the restaurant knew where she was going, there's no way it was planned." Takara explained. "Also, according to what Naomi said, she was only there for around fifteen minutes. And she didn't die until fifteen minutes after she left, which hardly seems like enough time to come up with a murder plan."

"Oh, yeah. I guess that makes sense." Kaito admitted.

"But that doesn't tell us that two people weren't responsible." Ryouta said as he fidgeted with his hands. "Just because it wasn't planned doesn't prove anything."

"Well then, we have more evidence where that came from. Right, Kara-chan?" Satoshi said.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Takara said. "But yes, there's still evidence that can show there was only one killer."

"Well what is it then?" Ryouta asked.

"The washing machines themselves." Takara said.

"How does that prove anything?" Hikaru asked.

"When we were searching for clues, I looked in the machines to see if there were anyone else's clothes being washed. After all, whoever killed Chiyo must have been doing their laundry. But the only clothes we found were Chiyo's, which were still wet. And the dryers were nearly empty as well, except for one." Takara said.

"Huh? what d'ya mean nearly?" Kazumi asked.

"One of the dryers had a pair of socks in them. Whoever killed Chiyo must have left them behind in their rush to leave the scene. And as we already established, the clothes that were hung up to dry had all been there before the murder." Takara explained. "Meaning that the culprit had to have been one person and one person alone."

"Wait a second, you said there was a pair of socks, right?" Kumiko asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Takara said.

"Well, if the criminal left behind their socks, that means whoever wears those kind of socks has to be the culprit!" Kumiko gasped, her usual self shining through. "Everyone, take off your shoes!"

"Even though you have a good idea there, I'm afraid it isn't that simple." Satoshi said.

"Huh? Why not?" Kumiko said.

"The socks we found were white. And most of us wear white socks, including the victim." Satoshi explained. "And there was nothing special about these socks that could distinguish them, so we can't use them to figure out the culprit."

"Oh. Never mind then." Kumiko asked as she hung her head down.

"Hey, you gave it a shot." Minoru said. "It was a good idea."

"And if that isn't enough evidence, then there's one more thing I can bring up." Takara said.

"No, I think that's enough for me." Hikaru said. "I don't doubt that the culprit is one person."

"So are we done talking about whether there were two people or not? Can we _finally_ move on?" Shigeru asked impatiently.

"Yes, your highness, we're done." Ayame said.

"In that case, the six of us without alibis are still the potential culprit." Minoru said. "So how do we find out who the five innocents are?"

"I got it!" Kazumi exclaimed.

"This will be interesting." Shigeru said, the Vocalist giving his a glare before speaking.

"Well obviously the culprit had been doin' laundry right? So all we gotta do is figure out which one of ya was doin' laundry! Easy as that!" Kazumi said with a smug look.

"Truly your mind is incredibly simple." Shigeru said. "Not only is that a _terrible_ idea, but whoever was doing laundry wouldn't admit it. The culprit obviously wants to graduate, so of course they're not going to willingly admit they were there."

"So we have no leads?" Masaru asked.

"Shit!" Ayame said. "At this rate we're all gonna die! Don't we have anything that could move us forward?!"

Takara paused and tried to think while the others attempted to figure something out. The stress of the situation was getting to her. Was there anything else she had found that could lead them somewhere?


	12. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Class Trial II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So am I the only one who saw the new characters for Dangan Ronpa Another Episode? You wouldn't think that such cute kids would be out to murder people. Still, I can't believe that one of the kids is named Masaru. Crazy coincidence huh? Oh well, at least I have the advantage of my Masaru having that name for at least a month. Don't know why, I just felt like talking about that. Lets get back to the trial now, shall we?

"Calm down everyone. We're not going to determine the culprit with what little we have so far." Satoshi said, snapping Takara out of her thoughts. "Let's return to the discussion at hand: how Chiyo died."

"But we don't know how she died." Masaru said. "The Monokuma file only told us it was blood loss or lack of air. That isn't much to go off of."

"I never said we had to determine which one it is, but we can figure out what was used during the attack." Satoshi said.

"We already established the possibilities of her death." Kazumi said. "Blood loss or bein' suffocated. So we jus' need ta figure out what the weapons were right?"

"Well if she was being suffocated, then anything in the laundromat could be a weapon." Ryouta said. "All the killer would need is something that could block off her nose and mouth so she couldn't breathe. And considering the location, there were plenty of things that could do just that."

"However, the culprit could have used their hands just as well." Kumiko added. "They may have tried to strangle her! That sounds about right, doesn't it? I mean, strangling someone at the neck will cut off a person's air supply."

"No, the culprit used something from the laundromat." Takara rebutted. "And I think I know what it was."

"Well if you're so sure, then tell us." Kaito said, issuing a challenge to the journalist.

"It's simple, the culprit used their own laundry to suffocate Chiyo!" Takara said. "And that same article of clothing was also used to hang her body." She smirked at Kaito.

"But how can you be so sure that it was the culprit's clothes?" Kaito asked.

"What do you mean?" Miyako asked.

"If you ask me, I think Chiyo killed herself!" Kaito said.

"Really now?" Satoshi said. "If that's the case, tell us why."

"Well you see, we found Chiyo hanging by a noose right?" Kaito said. "Wouldn't that mean she made the noose and hanged herself? After all, she was missing her cloak when we found her! And the noose was the same color as her cloak!"

"But what about the blood loss?" Naomi asked. "If she really did hang herself, then it makes no sense for it to be a factor in all of this."

"That's easy! Allow me to explain it to you!" Kaito said with confidence. "We already established that there was someone else in the laundromat with her, so whoever was there probably tried to attack her but failed to kill her themselves! After the attacker screwed up, they probably tried to flee the scene so they wouldn't get caught. So while Chiyo tried to hang herself, she was bleeding from the previous attack. She made the noose out of her cloak, wrapped it around the pipes on the ceiling, and hanged herself! After all, there's no other article of clothes that could have caused it."

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Chiyo's cloak had been with all of her other clothes in the washing machine. There's no way that it could have been the noose. After all, she's not the only person with an article of clothing like that. A few other people here wear black jackets of some kind, so it could belong to them."

"Oh, I got it!" Kazumi exclaimed. "If the culprit used some kinda black jacket, then whoever's missing theirs is da one who did it!"

"It isn't that simple though." Shigeru countered. "Out of all of us that wear a black jacket or coat, none of them are missing it. The culprit did leave with all their laundry, so it's safe to assume that the culprit owns more than one black jacket. After all, if they were missing such an article of clothing it would be obviously noticeable."

"Okay, so it wasn't her cloak, I get that." Kaito conceded. "But that doesn't mean she didn't hang herself like I said!"

"Actually, there's one other factor that proves she didn't kill herself." Takara said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kaito asked.

"There was nothing nearby the body that would allow her to reach the ceiling." Takara answered. "No stool, no chair, nothing. Which is strange considering the victim in question."

"Wait, what do mean?" Kaito said.

"Are you referring to Ueda's height?" Arata asked.

"That's exactly what I'm referring to." Takara said with a smirk.

"Wait, what's her height gotta do with all this?" Kazumi asked.

"If you paid any attention to Chiyo herself, you'd know she was the shortest out of all of us." Shigeru answered. "Certainly not tall enough to reach the ceiling without something to stand on."

"And there was nothing at the scene that was near her to indicate she could've stood on anything in order to reach it." Takara said. "Which means she didn't commit suicide!"

"I see." Kaito replied. "In that case, I guess you can ignore my theory."

"So she was suffocated by the jacket. That eliminates one possible weapon." Naomi said. "But there's still the matter of the blood loss."

"There aren't that many weapons one could find in a laundromat that could cause it." Ayame said. "And we already established that the culprit didn't plan the killing, so it's not like they grabbed a knife or anything."

"The culprit either had the weapon with them and improvised, or the weapon had already been in there and was left by someone else." Minoru said.

"The weapon had to have been hidden after she was killed." Shizuka said. "Probably to dispose evidence."

"But that means the weapon could be anything!" Kaito said.

"There's one thing about this that doesn't make sense though." Hikaru said. "If she was losing blood, then where was it? Her body was completely free of it."

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Shizuka, you know for a fact that she had been bleeding right? Her clothes show as much."

"Oh, you're right!" Shizuka said.

"What do you mean? There wasn't any blood on her clothes." Masaru said.

"Not at first glance there isn't, but if you look closer you can see it." Shizuka explained. "Around her chest are droplets of blood. They're kinda small, so it's not easy to notice at first, but if you take the time to look, you'll find them."

"Wow Shizu, how did you notice something so small?" Kumiko asked, astounded by the painter's find. "You must have super powerful eyes to find something like that!"

"I just looked, I guess. I have a good eye for detail." Shizuka said, clearly embarrassed by the praise as her cheeks flushed pink slightly.

"Still though, there's no way that such a small amount of blood like this would be enough to be a factor." Shigeru said. "I'm no expert on this, but it would have to be a severe amount of blood to come anywhere close to killing her."

"Except that wasn't all the blood she spilled." Satoshi said. "The killer just wanted to make it look like she wasn't bleeding and that she had been hanged."

"How can you tell?" Ayame asked.

"There's a spot on the floor that looked like someone had tried to clean it." Satoshi explained. "But they didn't do a very good job at it, as the color of the blood itself is still very slightly there."

"Her clothes also had a peculiar smell to them." Takara added.

"That doesn't explain anything." Arata said. "Ueda's clothes could've had that smell from blood."

"But we already established that there wasn't enough blood on Chiyo's body aside from the droplets Shizuka found." Masaru said.

"That and if it was blood, it would have been more noticeable on the dress itself." Takara explained. "Blood on clothing wouldn't remain damp by that point. It would've set in by the time she was found and left an obvious stain."

"How do you know that?" Ryouta asked.

"...It's a girl thing, you wouldn't understand." Takara said hesitantly, clearly embarrassed at having to explain that. "The point is, the culprit tried to hide the blood, and obviously missed a few spots."

"How did they hide it though?" Arata asked.

"They used ink of course." Takara said. "The culprit thought that by spilling ink on her dress, they could hide the bloodstain just enough so that no one would suspect a thing. And they thought that the smell of her body would mask the smell of ink just enough that they could get away with it."

"So we've established that she was definitely bleeding." Shigeru said.

"But what was da fuckin' weapon?" Kazumi asked.

"There were multiple wounds on her chest." Takara said. "They were too small in size to be something like a knife, and the weapon couldn't have been big enough to cause a fatal stab wound."

"That doesn't really answer the question though." Ayame said.

"True, but I think I found something that could fit the description." Takara said. "It was a pen."

"A... pen?" Hikaru said. "How could a pen of all things be a weapon?"

"This isn't an average ball-point pen, but rather a dip pen." Takara said.

"What da hell is a dip pen?" Kazumi asked.

"They're old fashioned pens." Naomi explained. "They don't have ink in them like modern pens, you have to dip them in an ink jar to use it. There are multiple sizes of nibs that can produce many different types of strokes. Most people only use them these days for artistic purposes or calligraphy."

"So, you're saying that this pen is the weapon?" Shizuka asked.

"Exactly." Takara said. "And I believe I know who it belongs to."

"What? You know the culprit then?" Arata asked. "Well then who was it?"

"Out of the four possibilities, I think I've managed to narrow down who it is." Takara said. "One person has already been proven innocent, another has an alibi, and out of the other two I've managed to pick out who it was."

"And that person would be...?" Ayame said.

"There can only be one possibility as to who the guilty student is." Takara began. "Someone who has tried everything they can to hide their involvement in Chiyo's death. Someone who has been trying to push blame on someone else in order to lead us away from the truth. Someone who tried to make it look like Chiyo Ueda killed herself so they could get off scott free."

"For fuck's sake, just tell us who you think the god damn culprit is already!" Kaito said.

"Gladly." Takara said with a smirk. "It's none other than you, Kaito Fujiwara!"


	13. Chapter 1 - Paradise Lost - Class Trial III

"...What?" Kaito asked nervously. "You're saying...I'm the one who killed her?" The animator began to laugh nervously. "Come on Takara, that's just crazy! T-there's no way I killed her. What proof do you have to pin it on m-me?"

"I have plenty of proof." Takara said. "This entire time, you've been questioning everything we've brought up and challenging our theories."

"This is a trial though, y-you're supposed to question other people's theories." Kaito replied. "After all, someone could be lying and we wouldn't know it."

"That's not all. You were nervous when Monokuma announced the Class Trial, more so than anyone else." Takara said.

"That's because my l-life is on the line if we get it wrong!" Kaito said, his eyes not even looking at the journalist.

"You were also pretty quick to blame Kumiko for her best friend's death, weren't you?" Satoshi added.

"Can you blame me for thinking it was her though?! Kumiko was very likely to b-be the culprit with how much she was glued to Chiyo." Kaito insisted. He was just digging himself deeper.

"Also, you were the one who brought up the idea that Chiyo had killed herself." Takara said. "If I recall, you were nowhere near the body during the investigation. In fact, I don't remember you coming into the laundromat when the body was discovered. So how did you know that she had been hanged?"

"I read the Monokuma file of course!" Kaito said, pulling on the collar of his shirt.

"Except it doesn't mention that she was hanged." Shigeru interjected, looking at the Monokuma File. "It only mentions her being suffocated."

"Then there's this pen." Takara said. "Being an animator, it would only make sense that you would have something like this in your possession."

"That isn't mine!" Kaito said, his anger coming out as he slammed his fist against the stand. "That could belong to Kumiko! Or it's Shizuka's! I wouldn't have a pen like that!" His frustration was getting the better of him, anyone could see it.

"Except first of all, both Shizuka and Kumiko have solid alibis for last night." Takara rebutted. "And secondly, Shizuka wouldn't even use a pen like this, she's a painter."

"Besides, I haven't taken out any of my supplies since we got here." Kumiko said. "I can't really be making my comic pages when everyone's acting all crazy-go nuts. And I prefer ball-point pens, I don't have the patience to keep dipping a pen in ink over and over again! It takes too long!"

"You even told me that you use these kinds of pens, and I've seen you use one before the murder." Takara added. "How can you explain that?"

"T-that's..." Kaito stammered.

"Also, that jacket Ueda's been hanged with does fit yours quite nicely." Arata said. "You do wear black jackets after all."

"That doesn't mean anything! I've obviously been framed!" Kaito insisted. "I never even saw Chiyo yesterday after the motive announcement!"

"In that case, why was there a talisman with blood on it sitting in the trash?" Takara asked.

"What talisman? I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaito said.

"At one point or another yesterday, Chiyo approached all of us and gave us one of these talismans." Takara explained as she showed the animator the talisman tied onto her backpack. "She intended to give these to all of us as a means of protection, and we were instructed to keep them with us at all times."

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?!" Kaito asked.

"If you didn't see her at all yesterday aside from the motive announcement, then that means the only time she could've given you one was at the laundromat." Minoru said.

"If you could just show me yours then the matter can be cleared up. And saying that you lost it isn't going to cut it." Takara said.

"That is unless you can explain when you got it and how it got lost in the first place." Hikaru said.

"But how can you be so sure that it's mine?!" Kaito asked. "If it has blood on it then it's gotta be Chiyo's!"

"No, her charm was still on her body when we examined it." Satoshi said.

"And in that case, the only person this can belong to is the culprit." Takara said. "If you want proof, then I'll ask everyone here to show me theirs as well."

"Fine, do it! Then you'll see!" Kaito said.

"Alright. Everyone, show me the talisman that Chiyo gave you." Takara said. Sure enough, everyone except for Kaito managed to pull out their talisman and showed it to the journalist without hesitation, leaving Kaito with nothing to hide behind. "Alright Kaito, now either show me your charm, or admit the truth."

"That's your big piece of evidence then? A lousy talisman?" Kaito said, his head hung low and his body shaking. "THAT'S GOTTA BE THE BIGGEST AMOUNT OF CRAP I'VE EVER SEEN! I MEAN REALLY? YOU'RE GOING TO RISK YOUR LIFE OVER SOME BULLSHIT EVIDENCE LIKE THAT?! THAT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE!"

"We've discussed everything we can about this Kaito, there's no other explanation." Shizuka said.

"YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT! YOU ALL ARE!" Kaito shouted. "YOU'RE GOING TO CONVICT ME ON THAT AND THAT ALONE?! THAT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY ENOUGH TO MAKE ME LAUGH! BESIDES, WHAT REASON WOULD I EVEN FUCKING HAVE TO KILL HER IN THE FIRST PLACE? WELL, GO ON!"

"Actually, that's wrong! You have plenty of reasons to commit murder." Takara said. "But the main reason would have to be Monokuma's motive."

"...The motive?" Kaito asked, his voice cracking as he did so.

"Monokuma threatened that if no one tried to kill each other, then he would destroy anything that could connect us to our talents. Being an animator with work in many different areas, surely the destruction of all your work would devastate you." Shigeru said. "And out of all the possible culprits, you have the biggest incentive to kill someone."

"I... I..." Kaito said.

"In fact, I think from everything we've gathered we can explain just what happened here." Takara said. "This is how the case played out!

"Everyone was unsettled by the motive and what it would mean for us. And someone among us couldn't possibly let their hard work and talent fall into obscurity. So the culprit began to think about who to kill. Meanwhile, Chiyo was trying to do everything in her power to avoid any disaster. She decided to go to bed early, but realized that she needed to do laundry first. After she decided to eat, she quickly gathered her clothes and made her way to the laundromat.

"Little did she know however, that the culprit was also there, waiting for their own laundry to be finished. She didn't see any reason to find it suspicious, and merely went to doing her business. Until she remembered that she had one last talisman to give, and the culprit was the only one she hadn't given it to. In her attempt to give them the talisman, the culprit decided to attack.

"Using nothing but the pen they had on them, the culprit attempted to stab Chiyo without thinking of what would happen. But the stab wounds weren't enough. It was taking too long for her to die. Before she had the chance to escape, the culprit then decided that the only way that they could kill Chiyo was to suffocate her. So they took a jacket out of their laundry and placed it over her face.

"Eventually, due to the lack of air, Chiyo finally died. But the culprit didn't know what to do, they couldn't let the others know it was them. So they tried to alter the crime scene and deceive us. First, they attempted to clean off all the blood. But they did a sloppy job, leaving a stain on the floor and some drops on her dress. Next, they had to dispose of the weapons. They figured that if they used the jacket to hang the body, it would keep us off of the right track. So they fashioned a noose around the pipe and stuck Chiyo's head in it. Next was the pen, if that was found they would know who did it. But during the attack they managed to drop it on the floor and couldn't find it. They figured it was enough and left it, if they couldn't find it then they thought no one else would either.

"After everything had been set, the culprit tried to take all their laundry and remove any trace that it was them. But in their haste they had left some socks in the dryer. Not that they noticed. But then there was the talisman. Before they left the laundromat, the culprit threw the talisman into the garbage, hoping that no one would dare look. And with that, the crime is clear. After all, am I wrong about this, Kaito Fujiwara?"

Kaito looked distraught. "I...I..." He couldn't find the words he needed. No excuses came to mind. He was trapped and cornered. "I yield."

"Well then! Since you all seem to have figured it out, please use the switch in front of you to vote! Now do understand that you must vote for someone! Not voting at all would mean punishment! So who will you vote as the culprit? Will it be the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?!" Monokuma explained. Takara pulled the lever, making her decision. Everyone else around her cast their own votes, and before anything else happened, a screen turned on showing them the result. Kaito's face appeared on screen as a track of cheering and clapping was heard. "Correct! The culprit who killed Chiyo Ueda was our very own Kaito Fujiwara!" Monokuma said with glee.

Kaito had no idea what to say. He gripped his podium as a few tears fell. "I'm sorry..."

"Kaito, why?" Kumiko asked, tears in her eyes. "Why did you kill someone like that? Why would you kill Chi-Chi?!"

"I had no choice." Kaito said with an air of defeat. "I've spent so many years on my animation work. If it were all to be destroyed, so much would be lost. Movies, TV episodes, short films, all of it gone forever. I've done so much work, I couldn't let it disappear. My work is the only thing to prove that I'm not useless."

"What do you mean? You aren't useless." Ayame said. "Kinda annoying, but not useless."

"Tell that to my parents." Kaito said as his body began to shake. "I'm nothing in their eyes. Nothing but a failure. I'm constantly compared to my older brothers who can't do anything wrong. Even when they purposely tried to get into trouble, _I_ was the one who was blamed. Nothing I did was right in their eyes, and I was always told how much of a burden I was. 'Why can't you be more like your brothers, Kaito?' 'Why cant you do something useful, Kaito?' 'Why are you such a disappointment, Kaito?' That's all I heard every day of my life! Not even getting accepted into Hope's Peak, something neither of my brothers managed to do, was good enough to deserve the slightest bit of praise from them! All they said was why couldn't my talent be something more useful! I wanted to prove that I could be successful! That being an animator was a talent worth being proud of! If all my work were to be destroyed by Monokuma, it would just mean that everything they said was true. That I was weak, worthless, a waste of life..." He sunk to his knees and held his head in anguish.

"But why Chiyo?" Shizuka asked. "She didn't pose any threat to you."

"No threat? Did you really not listen to anything she said?" Kaito asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Hikaru asked.

"You had to have heard her. All that talk about how death was hanging over us all? She had to have been planing to kill someone before the bear even made his motive." Kaito explained. "Her family shrine was at risk after all. It was only a matter of time before she would attack somebody. And I was all alone with her, she was bound to attack me. So I went after her before she made the first move. And even if I had killed someone else, she would've been able to contact the dead and find out it was me! I just...didn't want to die."

"But Chiyo was tryin' ta avoid dat kinda scenario!" Kazumi shouted. "All she was tryin' ta do was give ya somethin' she thought would protect ya', dipshit!"

"I had no way of knowing that!" Kaito screamed, his tone becoming hysterical. "I was paranoid, I was afraid! Can you really sit there and say that if it were you in my shoes, that you wouldn't do the same?!" No one answered. Takara began to feel sorry for him. It wasn't like he wanted to kill someone, but at the same time he still fell to despair. "You see? Any one of you could have fallen into the same trap that I did."

"Kaito..." Minoru said.

"I never wanted to kill anyone, honest." Kaito said. "But I had no choice. I just hope... Chiyo can forgive me from the afterlife..."

"Awww, isn't that just sad?" Monokuma said mockingly. "Too bad that sob story can't save you from your fate, Fujiwara!"

Kaito stood up with wide eyes. "What? Y-you don't really mean-" he said before being cut off.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Animator!" Monokuma said with glee.

"W-w-wait, you can't be serious!" Kaito said. "Please, don't kill me, I beg of you I'll do anything! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!!" He begged and pleaded with panic in his voice, afraid of the idea he was going to die, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

"Let's give it everything we got! It's punishment time!" Monokuma said.

"NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS ME! I WANT TO LIVE! I'M SORRY!!!!!!" Kaito screamed.

_**Kaito Fujiwara has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!** _

**Monokuma's Wild Mine Ride**

Monokuma used a small gavel to hit a button that appeared in front of him. Before he had the chance to run, a metal clamp secured itself around Kaito's neck, pulling him into a strange doorway as he screamed. As he was being brought closer to his demise, he desperately tried to force the clamp open so he could be let go, but it was useless. No matter how hard he pulled it refused to budge. He was pulled behind a curtain on a stage. The fourteen innocents were rushed into a room reminiscent of a movie theater, many of them afraid of what kind of "punishment"they would be forced to watch. Unfortunately, they didn't need to wait long.

The curtains opened to what appeared to be a movie, but the students knew it was anything but. On the screen they could see Kaito strapped to a minecart, his expression filled with fear. Standing next to the cart was Monokuma, a mischievous grin on his face as he reached for a lever. The animator had a begging look on his face, but although his mouth moved there was no sound. The others could only imagine that he was pleading for his life and were grateful they couldn't hear his frantic voice. The bear didn't seem to listen though, because he pulled the lever, sending Kaito off into a high-speed ride and waving good-bye at him.

The track made a number of twists and turns, it was almost more like a roller coaster then a minetrack. The cart began moving at faster and faster speeds, and though his efforts were futile the animator kept trying to remove the clamp keeping him attached. Without warning, the cart came to a stop in front of a large rock. Everyone was hoping that it was all over at that point, but of course it wasn't. Hanging above him was a precariously perched anvil, suspended only by a rope. A strange dwarf-like robot that couldn't have been taller than the cart appeared and began whacking at the rope as it slowly became weaker. The animator looked ultimately desperate at that moment, soundlessly begging it would stop as he thrashed around in an attempt to escape. The robot had finished it's hacking by the time it had turned to face him, the rope snapped. Before he even had the chance to scream, Kaito was crushed completely by the anvil, the cart destroyed under it's weight. All that was left were wooden remains of the cart, a pile of blood, and a single twitching arm that poked out from underneath the large object.

He was dead.

The other students all seemed to react differently. Shizuka looked sick once again, and almost threw up for real. Kumiko started to cry, whimpers escaping from her mouth. Ryouta could only stand there with his arms around his shoulders. Even Miyako, who was usually unfazed by anything, had a look of horror on her face. Takara herself didn't know what to do. She had just witnessed the death of her classmate. Even if she wasn't fond of Kaito all that much, she would never want to watch him die, especially like this.

"Woohoo! What an exciting punishment!" Monokuma said, breaking the silence. "My heart is beating so fast, I think I have an adrenaline rush!"

"This cant be happening..." Ayame said.

"Oh but it is!" Monokuma said. "And knowing you bastards it's sure to happen again!"

"I can't handle this!" Masaru said. "I don't want any part of this!"

"You can ignore it all you want, but the cold harsh reality of it all is that you can't leave unless you try to graduate." Monokuma said. "It's the only way any one of you is leaving this resort."

"Why? Why're ya putin' us through all dis shit?!" Kazumi asked.

"You really want to know? I thought I told you already!" Monokuma said, tapping his foot irritably. "In that case, lemme repeat it for you slowly so you'll understand. All I want is despair, it's my only reason for existing. Besides, why would you want to leave here? You kids always complain about how summer vacation isn't long enough! I'm giving you an eternal one this way! So now you don't have to worry about school coming around the corner!"

"That isn't an excuse!" Shigeru shouted. "We never asked for any of this!"

"Well if you really want to leave so badly then you know what you gotta do!" Monokuma said. "It doesn't seem like I'm going to get anything through those stubborn heads of yours though, so I think it's time we departed. You can't stay here though, so leave through the doors once you're ready. Or else I'll set up another punishment. Upupupu~"

With that, the bear disappeared. But no one walked out through the doors at that moment. Many of them stood there in shock and fear. This was what their world was now. Either succumb to despair and kill someone, or stay in this resort forever. And even murder was now a matter of life and death. Takara hoped that she would never have to see any more executions like Kaito's, or even be the recipient of one.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Satoshi spoke up. "We should return to our rooms for now." he said. "If we stay here much longer, that bear might try to punish us. And I think we all need some time to ourselves." Everyone seemed to silently agree as they headed out the doors and onto the platform. No one spoke on the way back to the hotel. There was nothing but a disturbing silence. Even when they walked through the path, no one could find anything to say. The image of Kaito's punishment was still fresh in their minds. As everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms, Takara found herself stopped by Satoshi once again.

"And just what do you want?" Takara asked in a tone that was harsher then she intended.

"You did a good job back there." The archaeologist told her. "If it hadn't been for you, we would all be dead."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, then try again." Takara said, prepared to leave.

"Darn, I guess I tried." Satoshi said with a nervous laugh. "But in all seriousness, you were a major help. I honestly don't think we would've found out who it was if it weren't for you and your journalist skills."

"My talent had nothing to do with it, and you know it." Takara insisted. "There's a difference between a journalist and a detective."

"Even so, I really think you were the reason we survived." Satoshi said. "I think you underestimate yourself, Kara-chan."

"I told you to stop calling me that! Don't you fucking listen?!" Takara shouted in anger. "And stop telling me it was all because of me! Two of our classmates, two of our _friends_ , have died, do you not understand that?! This whole time you've been acting so nonchalant about all we've seen, does the fact that Kaito killed someone not faze you in the slightest?!"

Satoshi stood there in silence for a moment, contemplating what to tell her. "I'm sorry Ka-wait, Takara. I get that all of this is serious, but that doesn't mean I should just fall into a state of depression over it. That's what the bear wants." Satoshi explained. "Maybe I'm just not as affected by death like the rest of you are, but believe me I'm still upset about both Chiyo and Kaito. I was only trying to make you feel better, but I guess I'm not that good around people as I thought I was."

Takara let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry about exploding at you. It's not your fault, it's the bear's." she said. "I'm just tired and worn out from all of this, so much has happened in the past twelve hours that it's taking it's toll on me. I know you're only trying to help, I'm just not the one you should be trying to comfort. I'll see you and the others in the morning, I guess." She turned away to head for the staircase, all she needed was some time to herself. Before she made it to the stairs, she heard Satoshi call out to her.

"Maybe we all just need someone to help us overcome this. All we have right now is each other and our hope."

Takara didn't say anything as she walked upstairs. The hallway was empty of people, everyone must have already returned to their rooms. She walked down the hall, trying to avoid glancing at Chiyo's room. She didn't want any reminders of what had happened. She finally reached her room and swiped the card key to enter it. She shut the door behind her and fell straight onto her bed. And without second thought, she screamed into the first pillow she could get her hands on. It was the first time since all of this happened that she let out her fear and anger. It didn't matter anymore, it wasn't like anyone could hear her either. She silently thanked whoever made the rooms so soundproof. She screamed her heart out until she managed to fall asleep.

**14 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then, that concludes the first chapter. I figured I should mention that the execution was meant to be inspired by the old black and white cartoons and a little bit of the color ones as well. I felt it was best fitting for an animator. This one was pretty obvious, but I promise that they won't be from now on.


	14. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Daily Life I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't really feel like my best work on a chapter, but oh well. They can't all be winners I guess.

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over!"

Takara woke up to the sound of the morning announcement. She must have fallen asleep last night after the trial, she didn't even remember hearing the nighttime announcement. The trial... Memories from the day before repeated in her head. Chiyo's body, the investigation, Kaito's gruesome execution, all of it. She wished it had been nothing but a bad dream. But knowing the situation at hand, there was no doubt that the events of yesterday were real. Letting out a sigh, she realized she never changed out of her clothes last night and put on a fresh pair.

"Now I know you all must be exhausted from yesterday, but all students must report to the front desk at once!" Monokuma said, his announcement differing from the norm. Takara was afraid to go, she didn't want to hear another motive already. But there was no way that Monokuma would give them a new motive so quickly, right? Before she could ponder any further, a knock at her door brought her to attention. Who could that be? She walked over and opened the door, seeing Naomi standing there. This was a surprise admittedly, the journalist assumed that someone like Satoshi was going to be there.

"Ah, good morning Naomi." Takara said, attempting to smile.

"Morning, Takara." Naomi replied, a bit forlorn.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be heading to the front desk right now?" Takara asked.

"Well, the thing is I need your help." Naomi answered. "Kumiko hasn't been acting much like herself since yesterday, and now she's not answering the door. I was hoping you could help me coax her out. I don't think any one of us wants to see her be punished."

Takara had almost forgotten about the comic artist. She thought things would get better after yesterday, but if she wasn't answering her door then that was a problem. "I'll see what I can do." she said. "Just give me a second." She closed the door and walked to the back of the room, standing in front of the door that connected their rooms. Slowly, she opened the first door, and then the other. Sitting on top of the bed was Kumiko, and she looked terrible.

It was clear that she hadn't slept at all last night. Underneath her eyes were dark circles. Her hair was hanging down, the ribbon it was usually kept in sitting beside her. The candy bracelets she wore around her arms were almost devoid of candy, leaving only a few pieces sitting on string. Her legs were huddled up beside her as she looked down in sadness. Takara had always assumed that Kumiko would be the type to snap out any funk she found herself in, but Chiyo and Kaito's deaths had hit her harder than she thought. "Kumiko? You okay?" Takara asked. What was she saying, of course she wasn't okay! Just looking at her made that clear!

Kumiko looked up at Takara, her expression unchanging. "Oh, hi Takara." she said, the usual energy in her voice gone. "I don't think I am..."

"Look, we have to go downstairs now. Monokuma's called us again." Takara said. "Naomi has been knocking at your door trying to get you to come out."

"I don't really feel like going anywhere right now, sorry." Kumiko said.

Takara sighed. "It's not a matter of whether you feel like it though." she said. "If you don't show up, the bear is just gonna punish you or something. You can come back here once it's all done, but we need to get moving."

Kumiko didn't answer. She seemed to be thinking things through. Takara didn't see what there was to think about though. "I'll be out in a minute." she finally said. The journalist left the room, returning to her own and heading out to where Naomi was.

"She'll be here in a second." she said. And just a moment later, the door opened and Kumiko dejectedly walked out. Her hair was back up in it's usual ponytail, but not much else had changed. She still looked terrible and sleep deprived. Without another word, the three girls made their way through the hall and down the stairs. Waiting in the lobby were the other eleven students, most of them still a bit down after the events of yesterday.

"Well, we're all here so where's da fuckin' bear?" Kazumi asked.

"My, my, aren't you ready to start the second act!" Monokuma said, popping out from behind the front desk once again. "I like that kind of enthusiasm, keep it up!"

"Enough, what did you call us here for?" Shigeru asked, not in the mood to waste time.

"Don't worry, I'm getting to that." Monokuma said. "Now then, kids like you get easily bored without enough stimulation, and we just can't have that! Our precious vacation life will come to an end before you now it! So after every trial you successfully complete, a brand new world will open up!"

"A new world?" Hikaru repeated.

"That's right! A dazzling place you never knew and all that!" Monokuma said. "You'll get new places to see and enjoy yourselves in. With such exciting new places, who would ever want to leave such a wonderful place?"

"Is that all you wanted to tell us?" Ryouta asked.

"Actually no!" Monokuma said. "I can already tell, some of you are a bit squeamish about the idea of going into the laundromat with Chiyo's body hanging in there and all. But I can tell you now that you have no need to worry about that! I've taken the liberty of cleaning up the place and getting rid of that unsightly corpse. In fact, it looks so clean that you'd never even guess that someone died in there!"

"What did you do with it?" Kumiko asked. "What did you do with Chi-Chi's body?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just put it somewhere for safe keeping, you won't need to worry about that. For now, just relax and enjoy your new surroundings!" Monokuma said. With a wave of his paw and a fit of laughter, he jumped back behind the desk and vanished.

"New areas, huh?" Ayame said. "At least something good came out of all this."

"Maybe one of these places has a way out of here, or something we could use to escape!" Masaru suggested.

"So what should we do then?" Shizuka asked.

"Simple, we look around the hotel and resort to see what's opened up." Shigeru said. "We just need to check the places that were blocked off before and see what we can find. Afterwords, we meet up back in the restaurant to discuss what we found. I assume there are no objections?"

"I guess not. I can't think of a reason to say no." Satoshi said.

"Good. We'll split up so we can cover more ground in shorter time. Anything you can find that might provide useful for escaping must be brought up immidiately." Shigeru said. "Now let's go." Almost as if on cue, everyone went their own way to explore the resort. Takara stood in the lobby alone, thinking of where to check first. Her thoughts went straight to the pool, surely that had to be opened up by now.

Going where the signs directed her, the journalist found herself standing in front of a set of locker rooms. This must be the only way in. Walking through the girl's locker room, which didn't have a single camera inside, she entered the pool area and could only stare in shock. " _This_ is the pool?!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the walls.

This place was a lot bigger than just a simple pool. It was practically an indoor water park! At the back of the room were four tall water slides, each one making twists and turns that it felt unreal. Over on the left side of the room was a large pool, which from the looks of it was actually a wave pool. On the right side was a lazy river, along with stacks of inner tubes. A few smaller pools were located closer to the front, one had a set of floating platforms that looked like logs and a net above them. The other had water jets streaming upwards. Finally, a fort like structure stood in the middle, with a giant bucket filling up with water on top of it. Near the locker rooms was a closet labeled "Pool Supplies", and what appeared to be a snack bar of sorts. Takara had wondered why there was so much room in the back of the hotel when the rooms didn't take up that much space, she finally got her answer.

"I know, right?!" An excited voice called out. Takara turned her head and saw Ayame, a gleam in her eyes. Standing nearby was Satoshi, who had been examining the chairs that were strewn about through the area. The archaeologist looked up at Takara but quickly turned away. He was probably still upset after hearing what Takara said to him last night. "This place is _amazing_!!! I didn't think that an indoor pool or whatever could be this freaking huge! Oh man, I can't wait to dive into the water!"

"What's in the supply closet?" Takara asked.

"Just some stuff like pool noodles, beach balls, and water guns." Ayame answered. "Lot of toys and stuff."

"I'm surprised though, you'd think this would just be an ordinary pool or something. But I guess since this is a mountain resort, we wouldn't have a beach or something nearby." Satoshi said.

"A beach?! Who needs a lame old beach?!" Monokuma said, having magically teleported onto one of the chairs. "Pools have always been the superior swimming locations anyway. Just so you know though, the pool is closed during the nighttime hours. So don't go trying to have a midnight dip or anything!"

"I'm surprised you didn't do anything to the locker rooms." Takara said. "Knowing you, I expected some kind of Gatling gun near the entrances."

"Oh I can't do that I'm afraid." Monokuma replied. "I can't do anything to the hotel itself, it's not in my power you see. Otherwise I'd have set up a foolproof security system to keep any peeping toms out of the wrong locker rooms."

"So what's keeping anyone from going in the other locker room?" Ayame asked.

"Well, nothing really." Monokuma said. "I didn't have the time to think about that."

"Why not just make it a rule?" Satoshi said.

"You're such a brilliant boy, Teruya! That's a wonderful idea!" Monokuma laughed. "I'll just add that to the regulations then." Three beeping sound echoed throughout the room, and the students took out their e-Handbooks to see that he had indeed set up a new rule. **10\. Attempting to enter a locker room that is not for one's designated gender will be considered as an act of perversion and will be punished accordingly.** "That reminds me, the pool area has it's own special set of rules that are laid out in guidelines scattered around here. You'll find them if you look along the walls." Monokuma added. "Enjoy your swim!" And once again, he was gone.

"You know what, I think I'll swim later." Ayame said. "I'm not in the mood for it now."

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for that later." Satoshi said.

"I'll just be going then." Takara said. "I'll see you guys later." Without another word, the journalist walked out through the locker room and back into the lobby. She quickly noticed Miyako walking down the stairs and decided to talk to her. Perhaps she had found something interesting upstairs? "Hey, Miyako. You find anything?" she asked.

Miyako blinked, remaining unresponsive for a moment. "Not really." she said. "The third floor is open, but there's nothing there. Though both floors have supply closets open."

"Supply closets?" Takara repeated. "What's in them?"

"Towels, soap, sheets, toilet paper, those kinds of things." Miyako answered. "Oh, and baggage carts."

"What would we do with those things though? It's not like we have a need for them." Takara said.

"I don't know." Miyako said. "Also, the elevator still isn't working." Of course it wasn't. Why would it be? "If that's all you need, I'll be going." The lucky student began to walk away towards the exit.

"Wait, I have a question for you!" Takara said. Miyako turned around to look back at her. "It's about that motive we got. Monokuma said he had connections to all our talents that he could destroy, but what about you? You got here by luck, so I can't think of anything he could threaten you with."

Miyako pulled up one of the sleeves on her hoodie. Resting on her arm was a silver bracelet with charms hanging off of it. "It's a good luck charm." she explained. "I always have better luck when I wear this. I had it on when I got my acceptance letter, so it's the only thing to connect back to my talent I guess."

"Oh, okay then. That's all I needed." Takara said. She was expecting something more then just a bracelet, but it still answered her question so she didn't press further. Miyako let her sleeve back down and walked outside. "Well, guess I should go out there too. Maybe one of those paths opened up or something." Takara told herself. Going in the same direction, she walked out the door into the sunny resort.

She had no way of knowing which way to go, so she decided to go to the far left path first. As luck would have it, that was the open way. The path went slightly uphill as she continued forward, and was once again surrounded by trees and bushes. It soon became a stone path, and Takara found herself in an open space. There weren't that many buildings as the first area, meaning not much had changed. Shigeru and Naomi came walking over, intending to head back most likely. "I was wondering when you'd show up." Shigeru said with a smirk.

"There's not a whole lot to this place, is there?" Takara asked.

"Well, there aren't as many buildings that's for sure, but the areas we have are quite smashing." Naomi replied. "You should take a look for yourself."

"We'll see you back at the hotel. We've seen everything we needed to here." Shigeru said. The two of them walked past Takara and down the path.

The journalist went towards the first building she saw. The sign above read "Health Center", which didn't tell her much, but it was better than nothing. Walking inside, she found herself in what looked like a doctor's office, or rather the reception room of one. Out of curiosity, she walked up to the check-in and rang the bell. She got a response, but not the one that she wanted.

"Yes, may I help you?" Monokuma asked as he appeared behind the counter.

"You're the last person I want helping me." Takara said.

"You're so cold, Tsukuda! Colder than Macbeth himself!" Monokuma said. "But you rang the bell, so you must need something."

"You're not going to leave until I ask for something, aren't you?" Takara asked.

"Pretty much!" Monokuma said. "Oh, and that didn't count as your question just so you know."

Takara sighed. "Fine. What exactly is this place?" she asked.

"This is where you students should come if anything happens to you during our lovely vacation!" Monokuma explained. "You kids are so easily bruised after all, you need patching up the instant you start bleeding! So any medical supplies you might need are here. Anti-biotics, bandages, whatever you want! And if for some reason you get really messed up, but still haven't died, you'll be brought here for some of my tender love and care!"

"I doubt any 'love and care' you give would be tender." A second voice said. Coming out from the door leading to the rest of the building was Ryouta, a scowl on his face. "It would probably just be filled with malice and spite."

"Ahhh! Hoshino is even colder than Tsukuda!" Monokuma exclaimed. "He's a creature made of snow and ice, I can feel it! I don't want to freeze to death!" The bear vanished once again.

"So is what he said true?" Takara asked. "About all the medical supplies being back there?"

"Yes, it's filled with all the tools as well." Ryouta said. "Syringes, scalpels, anesthesia, the list goes on. He probably put those there for the rest of you to use in your twisted murder schemes. You're probably plotting one right now, I bet!"

"Are you going to act like this the whole time?" Takara asked.

"Hey! I have good reason to!" The florist shouted. "No one can be trusted in a situation like this! It's kill or be killed, you know! Making friends with each other is only going to hurt everyone else in the end! We all trusted that stupid animator and look where it got us! He's dead!"

"He cracked under the presure, we can't blame him completely." Takara said.

"So you're just going to ignore the fact that he killed someone? Act like he did nothing wrong?" Ryouta questioned.

"No! I'm not! You and I both know that the bear's motive pushed him to do it! It could have just as easily been you!" Takara shouted. She was really getting tired of his paranoia. Before she could get a response, she stormed out. What was that guy's deal anyway? The world isn't out to get him like he's deluded himself into thinking! 

Trying to cool herself down, she made her way towards the next building, a building labeled "Pharmacy". Inside she found what looked like a store, all the shelves stocked with medicines and other health products. Arata was standing by a shelf, examining a bottle closely before turning his attention towards her. "What happened to you, Tsukuda?" he asked. "You look terrible."

"I was talking with Ryouta." Takara answered, which seemed to give the designer all the answers he needed.

"Ahhh, I see. Talking with Hoshino is quite a nuisance." Arata said. "He's always giving me dirty looks. He probably thinks I'm going to poison his drink if he's not careful."

"Can we not talk about him? Just thinking about that conversation is making my head hurt." Takara said.

"I think a bottle of aspirin will help with that." Arata said. "I just happened to find one right here. Why don't you take it?" He handed the bottle of pils to her.

"So this place has medicine I'm guessing?" Takara asked as she took the bottle.

"Any kind you can think of." Arata replied. "Monokuma was here earlier and told me that he also provides prescripted medication to anyone that needs it. Not that I do of course, I'm completely free of any problems." And there he goes again.

"I'll keep that in mind." Takara said. "See you later." She walked out the door and made her way towards the back of the area.

Compared to the place they started with, this new area was pretty small. At the back were three buildings. The first one that caught her attention was a relatively small building, but one that the journalist couldn't ignore. Walking inside confirmed her suspicions, this was indeed a hot spring. Shizuka and Kazumi were conversing among themselves, while Kumiko stood near them in a slump.

"Takara! Can you believe it?" Shizuka said, noticing the reporter standing at the entrance. "We have a hot spring here! An actual hot spring!" The painter was jumping in excitement.

"It's fuckin' amazin'!" Kazumi shouted. "And it ain't one of those indoor ones neither! It's an outdoor hot spring! I can't fuckin' believe it!"

"I guess a resort like this would have a hot spring, most of them do." Takara said. "Is this mixed bathing or...?"

"Oh no, it's separate bathing." Shizuka said. "We took a quick look to make sure. And it's a good thing too. I wouldn't want one of the boys staring at me while I was bathing."

"Dat ain't even the best part!" Kazumi said. "There's no cameras here, so dat shithead bear can't see a thing we're doin' in here! We can bathe in privacy!"

"No cameras? Really?" Takara said. She looked up at the walls, searching for the camera she saw everywhere else, but there wasn't one. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen one in the pool locker rooms either. Was there some kind of connection? She decided to keep that in mind for later. "That's amazing!"

"It's perfect! I mean, the baths you can take back at the hotel are fine and all, but nothing beats a relaxing dip in the warm hot springs if you ask me!" Shizuka said.

"How's Kumiko doing over there? Is she any better?" Takara asked, trying not to ignore the comic artist. Kumiko didn't even look up at the mention of her name.

"We brought her with us 'cause Shizuka thought she'd be comfortable around us or somethin'." Kazumi said. "But she's been way too quiet if ya ask me. It's creepin' me out."

"There's not much we can do to help her though." Shizuka said. "All we can do is try to support her and let her know we care. The death of a loved one leaves deep wounds, it'll take time for her to heal. I don't know how long it'll be though. It always varies between person to person. It could be a few days, or many years. But so long as we don't rush her then I think she'll get better."

"How do ya know all dis?" Kazumi asked.

"Well, I've had to help someone in this type of situation before." Shizuka said. "It wasn't easy, but time and care goes a long way. Just being there for someone can be enough to help them through the darkest times..." She weakly smiled, almost as if she was trying to force it.

"Yo, Matsuki, ya doin' okay there?" Kazumi asked. "Yer actin' kinda strange."

"Huh?" Shizuka snapped to attention, it was if she had broken out of a trance. "Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. I think I'm still a little tired is all. Don't worry about me." She was acting like herself again, but Takara couldn't help but wonder what just happened.

"Okay then, if ya say so." Kazumi said. "Jus' don' go doin' dat kinda shit too often. It's kinda strange."

"Sorry about that." Shizuka said. "I'll try to get more sleep tonight."

"Ya better, or else I'm gonna hafta sleep in da same room as ya ta make sure of it!" Kazumi said.

Takara realized they were just going to go back and forth, and there was no where she could come back into the conversation. She left the hot spring and walked towards the next building.

It appeared to be some kind of store, separate from all the others back in what Takara decided to call the Shopping District. She couldn't read the sign, as it was another one written only in English. She told herself that once she got out of here, she was going to make the effort to learn it. Walking inside, she found herself in a kind of food store. Looking at the labels and boxes, she noticed that everything in here was organic or all-natural or some other similar term. Minoru and Masaru were both looking around attentively at the products. "What kind of store is this supposed to be?" Takara asked.

Minoru looked up from the bottled drink he had been looking over and turned his attention towards Takara. "It's a store that only sells organic foods." he said. "It's perfect for someone like myself, the products here don't have any animal parts in the ingredients. They even have my favorite type of drink here, I was worried when the convinience store didn't have them."

"So it's all vegetarian stuff then?" Takara asked.

"You could say that." Masaru said. "It also has vitamins and things like that. They even have those protien drinks that athletes like. They all have things that are meant to improve your health in one way or another. Though it is true that most of the products are vegetarian friendly."

"Interesting." Takara said. "I didn't think they would have something like this at a resort."

"To be fair though, I think it's been long established that this is no ordinary resort we're staying at." Minoru said.

"Good point." Takara said. "Anything else of interest here?"

"No, nothing but food and supplements here. Unless you're looking for something like that." Masaru said.

"Alright then. Guess I'll be going." Takara replied. She walked out the door and headed over to the largest building. The sign above clearly stated that it was a gym. She was prepared to expect something over-the-top like the pool, but walking inside showed her that it was just a simple gym. It was definitely top-class though, all the machines looked brand-new and the place was spotless. There were all kinds of exercise equipment, treadmills, weights, trampolines,even smaller things like balls. There was even a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. As she suspected, Hikaru was there admiring all the equipment.

"This is amazing! I've never seen a gym like this before! It's absolutely wonderful!" The track runner said.

"It sure is incredible." Takara said.

"The only strange thing about it is the PE uniforms in the locker rooms." Hikaru said, pointing over to a set of two doors marked male and female. "I mean, they're in the boys locker room at least. I dunno about the girls."

"It's probably the bear's doing." Takara said. "Only he would be twisted enough to do something like that."

"Aside from that though, I got no complaints about this place!" Hikaru laughed. "I think I'll be spending a lot of time here. A guy like me has to train as much as he can! There's no room for slacking off in the world of sports, after all! I gotta remember to tell Ayame about this place, I bet she'd love it!"

"I get it, I get it, you don't need to tell me all about how you're gonna take her here on a date." Takara said.

"Why does everyone assume the two of us are a couple?" Hikaru groaned. "We're just friends, that's it. I mean, she's cool and all, but we're not dating and we're not about to."

"Whatever you say, man." Takara said, unable to hold back a smirk.

"I'm serious though!" Hikaru insisted. "I got girls chasing after me constantly, and she's the first girl who wants to hang out with me because she just plain likes me. She's not trying to date me, and I like that. I mean, I know guy and girl friendships aren't a huge thing and all, but that doesn't mean they don't exist!"

"Dude, calm down, I get it." Takara said. "I was just messing with you anyway."

"Oh, right. Of course you were." Hikaru said, feeling embarrassed. "You think you could give me some space or whatever?"

"Sure. I'll go." Takara said. "I think I've seen all I need to anyway." As she left the gym, Takara collected her thoughts together. The entire area appeared to have it's own theme, health and wellness. The other two areas that they couldn't get to probably had their own themes as well. While curiosity filled her, she didn't want to go through another trial just to find out. Maybe it was just a mystery better left unsolved. Deciding she had explored everything, she returned to the hotel and waited in the restaurant for the remaining students. It wasn't long before the others piled in, but for a moment she thought they were missing people. Then she remembered that those who were missing wouldn't ever come back. There would from now on be two empty chairs at the breakfast meetings.

"Everyone's here now right?" Shigeru asked. "So what did you all discover?"

Ayame was the first to speak. "The pool's open now!" she said with excitement. "Though it's a hell of a lot more than just a pool. It's a freaking water park in there!"

"You can only get in through the locker rooms though." Satoshi added. "And they don't have any cameras inside, so you can change in peace."

"Speaking of, we also have a hot spring." Shizuka said.

"They ain't co-ed so don' get no funny ideas." Kazumi said. "But they also don' got any cameras."

"There isn't much to be done about the hot spring, but I think we should limit the use of the locker rooms to going to the pool and back." Naomi said. "If someone were to die in there, we would have no evidence. So changing into bathing suits should be done in our rooms."

"I think I can live with that." Takara said. "Also, we can only go into the locker room that corresponds with our gender. Monokuma made that into a rule."

"The third floor is open too." Miyako said. "And so are the supply closets on each floor."

"Ah yes, I looked in those myself." Naomi said. "Aside from the luggage carts, all that's in there are basic supplies for our rooms."

"What about the third floor? Anything there?" Hikaru asked.

"No, just a supply closet and many locked hotel rooms." Miyako said.

"We have a pharmacy in case anyone needs medicine." Arata said. "There's also a place called the Health Center, which is basically a doctor's office."

"I'm guessing that doctor would be Monokuma?" Masaru asked.

"Unfortunately." Takara said.

"I'd rather die than have him treat me." Hikaru said.

"Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it." Naomi said.

"Don't go saying things like that!" Hikaru said.

"We have a special store now just for healthy foods and supplements." Minoru said. "It has a ton of great food choices, you guys should try it out."

"Minoru, I respect that fact you don't eat meat and stuff, but I'm not about to eat any of that vegetarian food and I'd rather you let me eat what I like." Ayame said.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't trying to come of that way!" Minoru said.

"Okay, that's cool and all, but the best part is we have a fucking gym now!" Hikaru said. "They got all the equipment and machines you need to get fit!"

"Aw hell yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" Ayame said. "Being unable to do my warm-ups is starting to get to me! I don't wanna turn into a ball of fat. I have too many calories to burn!"

"Must you constantly go on and on about that garbage?" Ryouta said.

"Yeah, well fuck you too." Ayame countered, sticking out her tongue.

"So did anyone find something that could get us out of here?" Shigeru asked. Everyone went silent. They didn't find anything of the sort. Then again, it wasn't like Monokuma would just open up a new area and give the the key to freedom. "What about you then?" he pointed at the sulking Kumiko. "You've been oddly quiet, don't you have something to share with the rest of the class?"

Kumiko shook her head.

"Are you certain, Kumiko? You didn't see anything interesting in your search? It doesn't have to be related to escaping." Minoru said. Kumiko shook her head again.

"Am I the only one who finds her silence disturbing?" Ayame asked. "This just doesn't seem right."

"We can't do much to fix it though." Shizuka said. "All we can do is be patient."

Takara looked over at the depressed comic artist. The poor girl looked even worse than she did this morning. Was there really nothing to be done?

"So you're all telling me that there's nothing we can use to escape? You all found nothing?" Shigeru asked. "That's just truly pathetic."

"Hey, we did the best we could, ya know!" Kazumi said.

"Well it obviously wasn't good enough, now was it?" Shigeru said. "Any effort you put in had to have been minimal at best."

"You fucking dickwad, I did a ton of lookin'!" Kazumi said. "You weren' even dere ta see it, so you can't tell me dat bullshit!"

"Will you two stop fighting?!" Shizuka said. "None of this is going to help us! This is just what Monokuma wants!"

"I agree with Shizuka, this is a waste of time." Satoshi said. "It's getting late, we could all do with some rest, don't you think?"

There appeared to be a silent agreement as everyone stood up and left. Takara went over to Kumiko and helped her back to her room. She didn't want to risk her going alone, and she was right next door anyway. Once she returned to her room, the journalist went into her own. The air from yesterday hadn't gone away yet. Everyone was still worked up. Falling down onto her bed and sighing, Takara hoped that nothing drastic would happen. There was already enough trouble as it was.

**14 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Free Time Events are back up for suggestions! Arata, Satoshi, and Kumiko are unavailable this chapter but the other ten are good for choosing. The first two are because they got FTE's last time, and Kumiko is for plot reasons. Go ahead and leave your suggestions!


	15. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Daily Life II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To any of you readers who live in the U.S. like I do, Happy 4th of July! Be responsible with your fireworks if you're lighting any. To any non-U.S. readers, I just hope you have a nice day.

Takara yawned as she entered the restaurant for breakfast. She had been catching everything up in her journal and was still awake for some time after the nighttime announcement had played. She never even checked her clock to see what time it was when she finally went to bed. One thing was certain though, she definitely should have gotten more sleep. Looking around the room, she noticed Masaru's absence. Which could only mean he was making something special. Takara took a seat next to Ayame and Hikaru, who were talking about something involving the pool.

"Takara! Perfect timing!" Ayame said, noticing the journalist sit down. "You're just the person I wanted to see!"

"Hm? Why's that?" Takara asked.

"Well you see, I got a brilliant idea last night!" Ayame said. "I was just sitting there, bored out of my mind, trying to figure out what to do with about poor Kumiko over there." She pointed at the comic artist sitting by herself. "And I was also trying to think about how to keep more murders from happening and all that junk. When suddenly it hit me! That pool we got is freaking massive, there's no way to enjoy it on your own, you know? So I figured what better way to cheer up Kumiko and bring us closer together than to throw a pool party?"

"How's a pool party supposed to do all that?" Takara asked.

"Well the way I see it, most of us tend to stick near one or two people." Ayame explained. "And because of that, we're not really bothering to learn about everyone else. Plus you got people like Ryouta and Miyako who don't talk to anybody. My reasoning is that if we spend some time together doing something fun like this, people won't be as likely to murder each other out of suspicion or whatever! And then there's Kumiko. Losing Chiyo totally did a number on her, 'cause they were super tight and everything. Maybe if she tries to make more friends here it'll bring her outta her slump. I know Shizuka said to give it time and everything, but who knows how much time we have here. That and pretty much everyone is getting weirded out by how quiet she's been. So I'm just trying to kill two birds with one stone, I guess!"

"When is this pool party supposed to take place exactly?" Takara asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon of course!" Ayame answered.

"And what about swimsuits? I don't think all of us brought one." Takara brought up.

"There's a store that has all kinds of swimsuits actually. Even the ones you find at a school oddly enough." Hikaru said. "Anyone who doesn't have one can just grab one there."

"And how exactly are you going to get everyone to come?" Takara asked. "Not everyone is going to just say 'yeah I'll be there' after all."

"Man you ask a lot of questions. do all journalists do that?" Ayame said. "But skipping out on the party is not allowed! If someone tries to, I'll just get Hikaru or Kazumi to drag their ass there!"

"Who have you talked about this with?" Takara said.

"Well I already told Hikaru obviously." Ayame said. "But I also got Masaru, Kazumi, Shizuka, and Arata on board. I already told Kumiko about it, but she just said 'ok' and left it at that." So she talked with about half of the students already.

"Well it's not like there's anything better to do here, and I don't really have any objections." Takara said.

"Excellent! I knew you'd hop on board with it!" Ayame said with a triumphant laugh. "Oh hey, there's some more people here now! I gotta tell them about all this. See ya later!" The football player jumped out of her chair and ran over to Minoru and Satoshi.

"It's not a bad idea." Hikaru said. "With everyone in the same place and all, it'll be impossible for anyone to get killed. Even with a huge area like that, it'll be obvious to figure out the killer."

"I hadn't thought of that." Takara said. "I guess you're right, maybe this idea will work to some extent."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone!" Masaru said as he emerged from the kitchen. "I was working on something extra special this morning!" He pulled out a food cart covered in stacks of waffles. It could have been the lack of sleep, but Takara couldn't even tell how many were there. "Ta-da! Belgian waffles, straight from the waffle iron and ready to eat! I made plenty for everyone!" The patisserie's face was beaming with a large smile.

"Looks like you made too much, how are we supposed to eat all of these?!" Ryouta asked.

"I'll jus' eat whateva no one else does!" Kazumi said instantly.

"Your brain and your stomach must be in the wrong places in your body." Shigeru said.

"Yer lucky I'm too hungry right now ta punch ya in the face, Kitagawa." Kazumi said.

"Enough talk! Let's chow down already!" Ayame said. Everyone went up to the cart and grabbed a stack of waffles. Kumiko only ate one before leaving, claiming she wasn't very hungry and leaving Kazumi to snatch the leftovers on her plate. Takara couldn't believe what she was tasting, truly Masaru's talent was shining through. Even when she began to feel full, she didn't want to stop eating. She forced herself to not grab another waffle from the cart, and left to make sure she wouldn't eat any more.

Returning to her room, she decided now was a better time than ever to look around to see if she brought a swimsuit with her or not. She honestly couldn't remember. Looking through all of her clothes proved that she didn't pack one. Which made sense when she thought about it, she had packed for a school and not a resort after all. "Guess I'm heading to that swimsuit shop then." she told herself. Uncertain of what she was going to pick out, she walked out the door and headed for the shopping district.

Once Takara found the store she was looking for, she found that Hikaru wasn't exaggerating when he said it had all kinds of swimsuits. She was uncertian about which one she should pick. She began looking through each one they had, grabbing one when she found something she wanted to try on. Before long she heard the door open. Looking to see who it was, she was surprised to see Shigeru of all people walking in. The composer noticed her as well. "Let me guess, you're here to find a bathing suit for the football player's ridiculous pool party?" he asked rudely.

"Um, yeah." Takara answered. "I didn't have one with my things."

"What an idiot that girl is." Shigeru scoffed. "None of us even have a bathing suit on hand in the first place, and she expects us to just have one on hand."

"It could have just slipped her mind, you know." Takara said, trying not to sound irritated.

"Even so, this whole party idea is a waste of time." Shigeru said. "Making friends won't matter once Monokuma gives us another motive. They can pretend to have friendships as much as they want, in the end it'll only hurt them further."

"And here I thought Ryouta was a pessimist." Takara said.

"It's not a matter of optimism or pessimism, it's simply facts." Shigeru said. "Trying to become friends is a waste of time in our current situation, and no matter how paranoid that florist is he seems to understand that."

"Well if that's the case, then why do you want us to work together to leave in the first place?" Takara asked. "If what you're saying is true and trying to be friends is pointless, why don't you just kill someone and try to leave?"

"Because I'm not stupid like that animator was." Shigeru answered. "If I do plan on killing someone, I won't make it obvious that I'm the blackened. And considering the risk if I failed, well I'd need to be extremely careful now wouldn't I? Besides, some of you have your uses. And I can exploit those uses so we can leave."

"If you want the others to cooperate with you, then you probably shouldn't go around insulting them constantly." Takara said. "Otherwise Kazumi will actually punch you."

"Oh I don't care about that." Shigeru said. "I find it amusing to see that idiot vocalist flare up."

"So you insult her on purpose because it's entertaining?" Takara said. "You really are a prick."

"That's not the only reason I find you people more useful alive." Shigeru said. "I have a feeling this Monokuma is more than what he seems."

"What do you mean?" Takara asked.

"I'm certain that you've already realized that his self-proclaimed title of headmaster is a lie." Shigeru explained. "But I believe that he's not even connected to the school at all. This 'Vacation of Mutual Killing' he's thrown us into is counterproductive to Hope's Peak Academy's purpose. Then there's the matter of Monokuma's bear form. While the world of science has made considerable strides in robotics and artificial intelligence, Monokuma is clearly more advanced than anything already created. Someone must be controling him. Which means we're not the only people in this resort. Whoever's working behind the scenes must be somewhere nearby pulling the strings."

"So you want to find out who that person is and why they've trapped us here." Takara said. "Am I correct?"

"Exactly." Shigeru smirked. "I don't have any leads yet, but my guess is that they're someone with an incredible amount of power and money. Only someone like that could pull this off."

"Someone along the lines of the Togami Conglomerate for example?" Takara suggested.

"Perhaps. The Togami family is one of the most powerful groups in the whole world." Shigeru said. "Though the Kuzuryuu yakuza could also be a possibility. There are countless others, but those two are a good place to start."

"So what do you need us for? You seem to be figuring this out all on your own." Takara said.

"You just gave me a place to start for one thing." Shigeru said. "Like I said, you all have your uses for me. Even if you don't know it. Whether you continue to be useful is yet to be seen." He took a look around the men's swimsuits and grabbed a dark blue one. "But I have better things to do with my time right now. I need to take this lead you gave me and move on with it. Good bye." He walked out the door and headed in the direction of the hotel.

"As much of an ass that guy is, he does raise a valid point." Takara told herself. "There's something bigger going on here. But he could go about it in a better way." She looked at her small stack of swimsuits and went into a conveniently placed dressing room.

\--------------------------

Ryouta couldn't believe it, Monokuma really did clean the place up. The laundromat was completely free of all signs that a murder had happened there. He never went near the scene during the investigation, but he heard enough to get a general idea what it looked like. There was no red spot on the floor, no scattered necklace, and no hanging body. Even Chiyo's laundry was gone from whatever washing machine it was placed in. He wasn't sure what was creepier, the fact that someone died here or that it was perfectly cleaned up like it never happened.

"Are you okay?" A sudden voice startled the florist and made him flinch. Turning around he saw Miyako standing next to him, a bag of laundry in her hands.

"I'm fine!" Ryouta insisted. "Why did you sneak up on me like that?!"

"I didn't sneak up on you, I entered through the door and saw you staring off into space." Miyako said. "You just didn't hear me come in."

"Bullshit! You're impossible to hear coming!" Ryouta said. "It's like you just appear out of nowhere!"

"I don't though. You should pay better attention to your surroundings." Miyako said as she unloaded her laundry.

"I'm the only one who is paying attention to my surroundings!" Ryouta said. "I could be killed at any minute! No one here can be trusted, especially not you!"

"Why's that?" Miyako asked.

"Because no one knows anything about you!" Ryouta shouted. "You're too quiet and you don't even emote! You could be silently planning a murder and no one would even suspect you!"

"...You're really loud, you know that?" Miyako said.

"That's it, I'm getting far away from you!" Ryouta said. "You're the most untrustworthy out of everyone here! I don't care about the laundry, I'll do it some other time when your creepy ass isn't here!" He grabbed his laundry and rushed out the door, leaving the lucky student alone in the laundromat.

Miyako sighed to herself as she started up the washing machine. "Some things just don't change I guess."

\------------------------------

"Alright, I'm getting this one!" Takara said, picking up a yellow-orange two piece. She didn't usually wear those kinds of bathing suits, but it just called out to her that she couldn't resist. Happy with her choice, she returned to her room to set it down with the rest of her things. Glancing at the clock, she saw that there was still plenty of time left in the day. Maybe she would go to the hot springs and take a relaxing bath, she wanted to know just how nice it was.

However, as she walked over to the hot springs, a ball came out of nowhere and hit her right in the face. The force of the impact caused her to fall over. "Oh shit!" A voice shouted from nearby. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, and before she knew it Ayame was picking up the black and white ball. "Sorry 'bout that Takara, I didn't see you coming this way!" The football player said. "You alright?"

"I think so..." Takara said as she grabbed her head.

"Shit, shit, shit, you're not bleeding are you?" Ayame asked. "My leg strength is incredible and I wanna be sure I didn't break your nose or something."

"I'm pretty sure that I'm not bleeding, Ayame." Takara said. Though immediately after saying that, she felt liquid trail down her face. Touching her face to find the source, she found that her nose was bleeding. "Okay, scratch that, I have a nosebleed."

"Aw shit, I'm so sorry." Ayame said. "I'll take you to the Health Center so we can stop it." Without a moment to object, Takara found herself lifted up by the football player and rushed to the Health Center. So much for that bath.

Going inside the office area, Takara felt like she was at the doctor's. Ayame brought her into a room and searched for something she could use to stop the bleeding. "Shit man, I am not a doctor." Ayame muttered to herself.

"You don't need to worry about it Ayame, it'll go away on it's own." Takara said.

"I still feel bad about it though." Ayame said. "I've given other football players nosebleeds before, but stuff like that just comes with the sport. And you don't play sports so yeah." She finally managed to find a container of tissues. She took one out and wadded it up so it would go into Takara's nostril. "There we go! That should do it!"

"Thanks... I guess..." Takara said. "What were you doing anyway?"

"Practicing of course!" Ayame said. "I thought that since this area didn't have as many buildings that it would be a perfect space to keep my legs in shape. The gym is nice and all, but the ball could literally land anywhere with no warning. And I don't want to break any of the windows in there. Besides, I like having a lot of wide open space when I play."

"I'm surprised that you were accepted to Hope's Peak Academy to be honest." Takara said.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Ayame said, clearly offended by the journalist's comment.

"No, no, not like that!" Takara said in an attempt to save herself. "I'm just saying that most people would expect a guy to get the title of Super High School Level Football Player. I didn't mean to say that you're not deserving of the title or anything."

"Ohhhh, I got you." Ayame said. "Well let's face it, I'm the best there is and the school got that. I may be the only girl on my team, but it's 'cause of me that we got so many wins. I'm kinda undefeated, if you don't mind my bragging."

"What got you into football in the first place?" Takara asked, her journalist's curiosity shining through.

"You wanna know that? Really?" Ayame asked, sounding like she was about to laugh. "It's not that interesting, but I guess I can tell you. I have three brothers, two older and one younger. One day, they wanted to play football but they didn't have enough players. So they dragged me into it so it would be even and fair. My little bro played goalie while I went on offense. It took me a minute to figure things out, but once I did I kicked their butts and won. It was so exciting! I wanted to keep playing and become the best football player there was. So I kept practicing and practicing. When I got into middle school, I found that the football team was holding tryouts and _had_ to go for it. They were a bit skeptical since I was a girl, but I showed 'em that I was good enough to play with them. And from then on, I was a star at the game. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, I'd say so." Takara said.

"Hey, why don't you have dinner with me? I still feel shitty about hitting you in the face." Ayame said.

"Sure. What are you hungry for?" Takara asked.

"Oh no, I'm cooking tonight, you hear me?" Ayame said. "And you're gonna have a taste of my delicious udon noodles!" The two girls walked to the hotel and ate in the restaurant, enjoying the company of Shizuka and Kazumi as well. Though their dinner quickly turned into an eating contest between Ayame and Kazumi, which ended in a tie. While the two of them tried to determine a tiebreaker, Takara took her chance to leave. While her classmates were interesting people, they were a bit strange and managed to wear her out. But she figured it was better to be worn out from excitement than anything else.

**14 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still a few more FTE's this chapter, so if there's anyone else you want to see then let me know.


	16. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Daily Life III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insert obligatory Beach episode joke here.

Takara could already tell that this morning was going to pass on by. Ayame had managed to tell everyone else about the pool party and it was already a hot topic. Most of them were excited, partly because they hadn't even seen the pool area yet, while a few others were just putting up with it because they had no choice. Ayame wasn't kidding when she said she was going to make sure everyone would go. She was adamant about this whole thing and was going to huge lengths to make sure it happened. There was still no change in Kumiko's behavior, but the football player insisted that it would all change once the party happened.

"Don't you worry about a thing!" she said. "By the time this party's over, Kumiko'll be acting just like her old self!"

"You better be right." Shigeru said, drinking from his cup of tea. "She might be an irritance, but her silence is rather unnerving. I'd prefer to have her loudness and hyperactivity than this."

"Well, well, well. I didn't think his majesty gave a damn about other people!" Ayame said, rolling her eyes.

"Do not mistake this for caring about that girl." Shigeru insisted. "I merely think that she isn't useful to our escape in this state. Her energy is useful, but so long as she remains like this she's no more than dead weight."

"I knew it was too good to be true." Ayame said. "If you need me, I'll be talking to Hikaru. We gotta finalize the pool party." With that, she walked over to the table where the track runner sat. Takara found herself sitting next to Minoru and Kumiko.

"She's pretty dead-set on this, huh?" Minoru asked.

"Yeah, I'll say." Takara said.

"It's nice to see that Ayame cares about Kumiko enough to set this up." Minoru said with a smile as he moved his fork through his food. "And here I thought I was the only one worried about her. Looks like I was wrong!"

"You're acting pretty cheery. Is Satoshi's enthusiasm contagious or something?" Takara asked.

"Oh no, I just don't see anything bad happening from here on out!" Minoru said. "This pool party sounds like it'll be fun! And even so, Satoshi hasn't been all that cheery."

Takara's head perked up. "He hasn't? What do you mean?" she asked.

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Minoru asked. Takara shook her head. "Well, ever since the trial he's been kinda quiet and distant." He pointed to the archaeologist sitting alone. "I'm not sure what's got him so down, you have any idea?"

Takara froze, recalling her words to him after the trial. She really screwed up this time. "...Maybe." was all she could say.

Breakfast was uneventful for the remainder of the morning, as it just seemed to fly by. No one had anything new or interesting to bring up, as all the talk was about the party. It was a nice change after the recent events of the trial. Kaito's execution felt like a lifetime away at that moment instead of three days ago. Takara began to wonder if things like this could happen more often, maybe people would be less likely to kill each other that way. As she returned to her room, she realized that there was still some time left before everything began. Thinking it over for a moment, she decided to make her way towards the library. She had no good books to read around here, and knew she could find something in there.

Heading inside, she saw Naomi trying to make her way to a table with a large stack of books in her hands. She was trying to balance them steadily as she walked with a shaky degree of success. They could topple over at any minute. And that minute just happened to be now, as without warning all the books fell to the floor. "Oh bugger all!" she shouted without a care. "Stupid arse books, can't even stay up right!"

"Do you, uh, need some help there, Naomi?" Takara asked.

"Oh! Takara! I didn't see you there!" Naomi said, regaining her composure. "Erm, yes, I do need some help."

Takara walked over to the translator and helped grab the scattered books off the floor. Most of the titles were in languages she didn't even recognize. Naomi was amazing, being able to understand two languages seemed hard enough, but understanding ten of them? How could anyone be able to do that? "You can really read all of these books?" she asked.

Naomi pushed her glasses up against her face. "Of course I can." she said with a smile. "It's easy to learn when you start from a young age."

"Still though, I don't think anyone is able to read ten languages. I can't even tell what some of these are." Takara said.

"Aside from Japanese and English, I'm fluent in French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese." Naomi explained, feeling proud of herself. "Most of them are other European languages, but I lived in the U.K. for most of my life so it would only make sense."

"Huh. So what are these books you got here anyway?" Takara asked, placing the books on a nearby table.

"Oh these? They're all about the various talent schools." Naomi said, placing the ones she picked up on the same table.

"Talent schools?" Takara asked, uncertain about what she meant.

"That's what I call them, they don't really have a proper name." Naomi said. "But Hope's Peak Academy is one of them. You see, every major country in the world has a school like Hope's Peak Academy. They all differ depending on the country of course, but the basic ideas remain the same. The only way to attend one is by invitation, and only the most talented students are accepted. Each student is given a title that signifies their talent. And anyone who attends the school is set for life, they can get into the best universities and find any job they please."

"So why are you looking up information on them?" Takara asked.

"I'm trying to figure out if any of the other schools have done anything along these lines." Naomi said. "Not the mutual killing specifically, but the sudden vacation provided by the school. I also want to know if we're the first instance of Hope's Peak Academy doing this method. Of course, my research is only limited to what I can read."

"Any luck so far?" Takara asked.

"No, not really." Naomi said with a sigh, slightly irritated. "These books are informative, that's for sure, but they won't give me the information I'm looking for. I'm also looking for any information on this Jin Kirigiri person, along with anything connected to Monokuma. But even the books on Hope's Peak aren't able to give me anything! It's driving me mad!"

"I can see that..." Takara said.

"Right, sorry. This is all really stressful so my temper is off the walls." Naomi said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm trying to stay calm and all, but it isn't easy. It's not much help that some of the others are just downright irritating."

"I have to agree with you on that." Takara said.

"Anyway, all I've managed to gather so far is that the American school and the Chinese school have never done anything like this. The closest thing I've found is that the American school has a special trip for their students during their spring break, but they warn the students beforehand and it's optional." Naomi said.

"Is there a talent school in England?" Takara asked.

"Yes, though compared to most of the others it's relatively new." Naomi said. "It was only founded five years ago. So information about it is hard to find, especially in this library."

"Would you have gone if you had stayed there?" Takara asked.

"No, I had already started secondary school at the time, it was too late for me to get my acceptance letter." Naomi said. "But I managed to get into Hope's Peak anyway, so no loss I guess."

"I suppose you're right." Takara said.

"Well, I'm going to bring these back to my hotel room. That party is about to start and I'd like to get changed before then." Naomi said. "Mind helping me carry these?"

"No problem." Takara said, grabbing half of the books. "Let's get going." The two girls walked back together, Naomi talking about life in England and what it was like there. Takara was amazed at every word she said. It sounded like such an extraordinary place to be. She wondered if she could visit it someday. Up on the second floor of the hotel, Naomi swiped her card and opened her door.

"I'll take this stack in first. You can just leave the rest of them here and I'll grab them in a second." Naomi said. "I'll see you at the pool, then!"

Takara dropped the books by the door. "Right, see ya!" Walking back to her own door, she thought about what she had been told. If those books held the answers, maybe they could find their own way out. Entering her room, she grabbed her two-piece bathing suit and went into the bathroom to change. She didn't want to do it in the middle of her room where that bear could see her. Who knew how sick and twisted he was?

She placed her clothes on the bed once she finished and grabbed her bag and key. She began to walk towards the door, but looked over at the end of her room. The door to Kumiko's room seemed to be staring at her. She began to wonder about the comic artist, thinking that it was entirely possible she just said she would go to make Ayame leave her alone. "I should probably go check on her." she said. She opened the doors and found Kumiko sitting on her bed, wearing a blue bathing suit with a large pink stripe going across diagonally. As was the norm for her these days, she had a disheartened look on her face. "Yo, you going to the party or what?" Takara asked.

Kumiko looked over at her and sighed. "I dunno." she said. "I don't really feel like it."

"Then why are you in a bathing suit?" Takara asked.

Kumiko shrugged.

"Look, if you don't go then Ayame is gonna drag you here by force." Takara said. "Do you really want that?"

"Well, no." Kumiko said.

"Why don't you walk with me or something? Will that help?" Takara asked. She had no idea what she was doing, she doubted she was even helping.

"I don't know." Kumiko said.

"Alright, that's enough." Takara said, her patience wearing thin. She walked over to the bed and grabbed Kumiko's arm. "You're coming with me and I don't wanna hear any buts about it!" She pulled Kumiko to her feet and began walking towards her door, making sure to grab the comic artists room key first. "There's no reason why you shouldn't come, you'd love that water park more than anything else in this place. The only thing you'd like more is probably an arcade or something."

Walking out the door and through the hallway, Kumiko didn't respond. Either from lack of energy, or from not wanting to try and fight back.

"I'll admit, I've never lost someone that important to me so I can't relate to how you feel; and I know that Shizuka said to give it time, but I'm starting to think that waiting isn't going to help you." Takara said as they walked down the stairs. "Granted, I _have_ lost someone, but we were nowhere near as close as you and Chiyo were. And believe me, I wish I could've done something to save them both but it's too late now. All we can do is keep moving forward for them." Before long, they reached the locker rooms. "Here we are. Just a straight walk through here and we'll be at the pool. Now let's go!" Takara said, continuing to pull Kumiko along.

She stopped when she saw Kazumi standing around in the locker room with all of her clothes on. The vocalist looked over at the two of them. "Hey dere, Tsukuda." she said. "I see ya got Akamine wit' ya."

"Yeah, I do." Takara said. "Kazumi, what are you doing in he-"

"Ain't it obvious? I'm changin'!" Kazumi said as she began to take off her clothes.

"Why in here though?" Takara asked, her tone sounding more shocked than intended.

"What? It ain't dat weird." Kazumi said. "We're all girls anyway, dere ain't nothin' wrong wit' seein' me naked. Not like ya haven' seen boobs before."

"That's not what I meant." Takara said, holding back a groan. "We all agreed to change in our own rooms remember?"

"I know, but I don' want dat fuckin' bear watchin' me strip down!" Kazumi said. "I ain't about ta let 'im see my tits so I came here ta change. Not like I'll get punished for it, ya know."

"Why didn't you just change in your bathroom then?" Takara asked. "There aren't any cameras in there. That's what I did."

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot 'bout dat." Kazumi said. How could she have forgotten that?! "Whateva', might as well jus' finish up here anyway. No point in goin' back ta my room at dis point. I'll be dere in a sec."

"Alright then..." Takara said. Kumiko didn't say anything and just stared at the ground. The two girls walked through the doors and entered the pool. Most of the others were already there, setting up spots at a group of chairs. Ayame looked over and saw them, and in an instant she ran over.

"Hey! You guys are here!" she said enthusiastically. Like Takara, she was wearing a two piece bathing suit, only hers was forest green. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up!"

"I had to drag Kumiko out of her room." Takara said.

"You mean she was thinking of skipping this?" Ayame asked. "Sorry, Kumiko, no can do! Like I said, this party is mandatory! Well anyway, just pick a chair and leave your stuff there for now. And don't worry about towels, me and Hikaru picked some up a little while ago! Just pick one once you feel like drying off. Or you could grab one now so no one steals your chair, I guess. We left them over by the snack bar. We got a few more things in store, but I'm waiting until the party starts for me to reveal them."

"You and Hikaru sure planned things out." Takara said.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't we?" Ayame asked. "We wanted to make sure this was gonna be the most fun any of us would have here! Just go settle down for a bit, I have a few more things to do while the last few stragglers are coming in. See ya later!" The football player ran over to Hikaru and started talking with him.

"So Kumiko, what do you think about this place?" Takara asked. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

Kumiko looked over at the massive water park, and though she could have been imagining things Takara could swear she saw a sparkle in her eyes. "Yeah... I'll say..." Kumiko replied, her voice still conveying sadness.

Takara sighed. "Look, I know you miss Chiyo, she was your best friend and now she's gone. But would she really want you to stay like this?" she said, trying to comfort Kumiko. "I didn't know her long, and no where near as much as you, but I have a feeling she would want you to move on and keep going for her."

"But I don't have any other friends." Kumiko said. "I never cared that much about making any because I thought Chi-Chi would always be there for me. But now she's gone and I don't know what to do. And the only other one I have, I haven't seen him in years."

"Well what about me? I kinda got the impression that we're friends after we played that game together." Takara said. "Satoshi seems to like you too, and it looked like Shizuka and Kazumi wanted to be your friends. Minoru's worried about you, so he's gotta be your friend. Hell, part of the reason Ayame set this all up is so we could try to get closer to each other as friends. I can't make you stop feeling depressed over this, hell I doubt I'm even doing a good job at helping you, but I do know that clinging to the past and what might have happened won't make you feel any better. All it's gonna do is make you feel worse inside. You shouldn't forget Chiyo, never forget her, but making the effort to move on and accept her death will do you much better in the long run."

Kumiko looked up at Takara and sniffled. "You really think so, Karins?" she asked.

"Trust me, I know it will." Takara answered. "If you don't believe me, that's your choice. But you should at least try to enjoy the party while you're here. I'll let you be for a while and check on you later."

Kumiko just nodded her head and walked over to a chair. Takara shortly walked to the same area and picked a chair next to Masaru. The last four people, Kazumi, Shizuka, Naomi, and Shigeru, came out of the locker rooms. Ayame stood up on top of a table at the snack bar and spoke into a megaphone. "Alright! Everyone's here now, so I declare this pool party officially started! I don't need to tell you what to do, there's so much here that you're all bound to have fun! However, there are a few things we got here in case the massive water park isn't enough." With her free hand, she held up a water gun for all to see. "Like these babies right here! Not to mention a whole bucket of water balloons and everything in the supplies! So go on and have a blast! Or else I'll be testing this out on you!"

"Fuck yeah! Let's do dis!" Kazumi shouted. "I got jus' da thing too!" She dropped a duffel bag onto a chair and opened it up, grabbing a stick, blindfold, and watermelon. "It ain't summer if ya don' smash a watermelon after all!"

"Where did you get that watermelon in the first place?!" Ryouta asked.

"Da kitchen! Where else?" Kazumi asked.

"Watermelon smashing is meant to be done at a beach, not in a water park." Shigeru pointed out. "Everyone knows that."

"Well we ain't got a stinkin' beach, ya douchecanoe!" Kazumi shouted.

"Maybe we should just do the watermelon smashing already?" Shizuka asked, trying to keep a fight from starting.

"She's got a point! Let's just smash the damn thing already!" Hikaru said. He grabbed the blindfold from Kazumi and tied it around his eyes. Kazumi put the watermelon on the ground and spun the track runner around three times before handing him the stick. He missed the first swing, barely hit it the second swing, and on the third swing he hit it so hard that the melon splattered all over him and anyone else who was standing too close.

"Well, it's definitely smashed now." Miyako said.

"Did I hit it? Did I hit it?" Hikaru asked as he untied the blindfold. He looked at Kazumi and Minoru, who were covered in melon bits. "Oh, whoops. Guess I hit it too hard?"

Ayame was laughing from the table she was standing on. "Wow, Hikaru, way to go!" she said. "Looks like no one's gonna be eating any of that now!"

"Oh shut up, like you could have done any better?" Hikaru said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let me clean all that melon off of you guys so it's not floating around in the water." Ayame said as she prepared her water gun. "The rest of you can go off and do whatever."

"Don't worry about it, Hikaru. It's just a little watermelon." Minoru said, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he had watermelon juice in his hair.

Takara tried to hold back her laughter as she made her way towards the water slides. As she reached to grab an inner tube, as some of the slides apparently required them, she noticed a familiar hand trying to grab one as well. She looked over at the boy next to her, who was uncertain what to say. "Oh, hi Kara-chan." he said. "Wait, no, sorry. I forgot you don't want me calling you that."

"Hey Satoshi." Takara said. She looked at his chest, which was pale and a drastic contrast to his tanned body. "It's a bit weird looking at you like this."

"Sorry. I don't swim very much so my chest tends to stay pale." Satoshi said.

"Why are you apologizing so much? You didn't do anything." Takara said. "In fact, it feels like you're trying to avoid me."

"I'm not trying to, honest." Satoshi insisted. "I just thought you might still be mad at me about what happened the other day."

"What, you mean after the trial?" Takara said. "Why would I still be mad about that? It was a rough day and I took it out on you."

"But I was bothering you, it's only natural you would be mad at me." Satoshi said.

"I already told you, I'm sorry about that." Takara said. "So stop acting gloomy about it already! It's bad enough Kumiko is depressed, I don't need you acting like that either." She found a two person inner tube and grabbed it. "Come on, why don't we go down the water slide together?"

Satoshi looked embarrassed, a light blush going across his face. "You mean it? You're not still mad at me?" Satoshi asked.

"I'm going to be if you don't stop acting like I am." Takara said, starting to get irritated. "Now come on, let's go already." She took hold of his hand and attempted to lead him forward.

"Oh, um, okay. Whatever you say, Kara-chan." Satoshi said nervously. As they walked up the steps to the water slides, he couldn't help but let out a stupid grin.

\-----------------------------------

"Alright Kazumi, that should be the last of it." Ayame said. "You're now free of watermelon."

"Thank god!" Kazumi said. "I thought I was gonna be eatin' a shit ton of melon, not get covered in it."

"Sorry!" Hikaru said.

"Either way, go do whatever now. I gotta spray off the other two." Ayame said.

"Fine by me. I wanted ta go have some fun anyway." Kazumi said. She walked away and went over to Shizuka, who was standing against a wall with her arms hiding her chest. "Yo, Matsuki! Watcha doin' over here?"

"Just waiting for you." Shizuka answered.

"Ya don' need ta do dat, ya know. Ya don' need me ta have fun now do ya?" Kazumi asked. "I woulda found ya on my own after all."

"No, I don't." Shizuka said. "But I wanted to wait."

"Why ya got'cha arms crossed like dat?" Kazumi asked.

"N-no reason." Shizuka said.

"Ya stuttered, yer totally lyin'." Kazumi said. "Tell me what dis is about."

"It's nothing, really!" Shizuka said.

"Wait a sec', are ya nervous about showin' yer chest or somethin'?" Kazumi asked.

"Of course not! Why would I?" Shizuka asked. "It's not like being around all the other girls here and seeing their chests is making me jealous or anything, if that's what you're implying!"

"Ohhhh, dat's what da problem is." Kazumi said with a smirk. She went behind the painter and grabbed her chest, squeezing it in her hands. "Seriously, Matsuki? Yer boobs are cute as dey are! Ya don' need ta be upset about da others."

"That's easy for you to say! You're wearing that bikini!" Shizuka said, her face turning red from the discussion and groping.

"Girl, trust me, big tits ain't everythin'." Kazumi said. "Besides, ya look fine in dat one piece ya got! It shows off your figure! And it makes ya look even cuter than ya already fuckin' are!"

"You're just saying that." Shizuka said, stepping away out of the vocalists grip.

"No I ain't." Kazumi said. "Though if I'm honest, I thought ya were gonna pick out somethin' different."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shizuka asked, looking down at her bathing suit. It was a simple red one piece with thin circles going in and out.

"I jus' mean color wise or whateva." Kazumi clarified. "It ain't bad or anythin', but da pattern jus' seems weird ta me. I can't tell if dose are rings or circles or what. Dat and da fact dat it's red don' help much."

"What does it being red have to do with anything?" Shizuka asked.

"I dunno, I can't help feelin' like it's fuckin' lookin' at me or somethin'." Kazumi answered. "Why'd ya pick it anyway?"

"I... I'm not sure." Shizuka said. "When I saw it I got this strange feeling of nostalgia, almost like I had seen something like it before. But I can't seem to remember where..."

"Oooookay den. Talk 'bout freaky." Kazumi said. "But what do I know, I neva gave a shit 'bout fashion."

"Looks like that bucket is going to tip soon." Shizuka said, looking at the large bucket on top of the fort.

"It is?" Kazumi asked. "Time fer me ta have some fun. Oy! Kitagawa!"

Shigeru looked up from a book he was reading in irritation. "What could you possibly want with me, you idiot?" he shouted.

"Not much, I jus' need ya ta stand over here!" Kazumi said, pointing at the spot where the water would dump.

"And why on earth would I ever do that?" Shigeru asked.

"If ya do it, I'll leave ya alone for da rest of da day!" Kazumi said.

"Fine. But if you throw a water balloon at me I'll make sure you're the next victim!" Shigeru said as he walked to the spot the vocalist had specified.

"I swear dat I ain't gonna do dat!" Kazumi said, watching the bucket begin to turn.

"Alright, I'm here, what's the point of all this?" Shigeru asked with his arms crossed.

"Dis is!" Kazumi yelled. At that moment, the bucket of water tipped to the side. Before he had any idea what was going on, Shigeru found himself dumped in gallons of water. Shizuka tried her hardest not to laugh, but Kazumi couldn't hold back. "Holy shit, you're a total fuckin' sap! Ya actually fell for it! Dat's amazin'!" she said through her fits of laughter.

"Kazumi! That's not funny!" Shizuka said, a smile on her face.

"Aw come on, I know ya wanted ta see dat comin'!" Kazumi said.

"Well I for one think it's the best! His highness deserved it!" Ayame said. "I agree with Kazumi, that fucker deserves it!"

Shigeru, soaked to the bone, looked absolutely furious. "I swear I'll make you all pay for this!" he said.

"Shigeru, lighten up, it's just some water." Naomi said from her own chair. "It's just some harmless fun."

"Harmless fun, my ass." Shigeru muttered as he returned to his chair.

Kazumi's laughter settled as she looked back at Shizuka. "Holy shit, dat was a blast." she said.

"You know he's going to get back at you for that." Shizuka replied.

"Nah, guys like Kitagawa are all bark an' no bite. Dey talk all big but don' do anythin' back at me." Kazumi said. "Wanna go on da lazy river?"

"You bet!" Shizuka said. "And after that we can go on all the water slides."

"Fuck yeah! You read my mind!" Kazumi shouted as they walked over to the lazy river. "I fuckin' love ya, Matsuki! You're da best friend I've eva had!"

"Same goes for you, Kazumi." Shizuka said with a smile.

\---------------------------

Shigeru grabbed one of the towels left behind and tried to dry himself off after his unwanted soak. That stupid vocalist, she shouldn't even be here. How did someone like her get accepted into Hope's Peak Academy in the first place? The sooner she got her just desserts, the better.

"Honestly, Shigeru give it a rest." Naomi said, sitting down in the chair beside him. "I know you don't like her, but it's all just fun and games."

"If it was you in this scenario, you wouldn't be saying that." Shigeru said. "I've seen how you really are."

"What are you talking about?" Naomi asked.

"The day before the trial, you were in the library and happened to get quite angry." Shigeru explained. "You've slipped a few other times since then, but I even heard you ask yourself why you let that happen."

Naomi was shocked. He saw all that? "That was just an accide-" she tried to speak.

"Even if it was an accident, I feel that there's more to you than meets the eye." Shigeru said. "And it intrigues me. I think I'd like to see more of it."

"No, you wouldn't, believe me." Naomi said. "No one wants to see that side of me."

"Oh, but I do." Shigeru said. "I want to know what you're truly like, Naomi. You should really let me see that side of you."

Naomi sighed. "You're not going to let up, are you?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. "Fine, but not here where everyone can see it. I'll show you later."

"Excellent. I eagerly await for that moment." Shigeru said. It was all too easy.

\-------------------------------

Kumiko sat alone in her chair, thinking about what Takara and Ayame had told her. She wanted to have fun with everyone else, she truly did, but she couldn't bring herself to move from where she sat. She sighed and messed with a loose strand of hair. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the water gun aimed at her and was sprayed right in the face.

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were gonna duck or something." Hikaru said. "Damn, I'm apologizing a lot today. What are you doing here sitting around though? I thought you'd be going directly for the water balloons or something."

"Not sure." Kumiko answered. "Guess I don't have the energy to do it."

"Bullshit." Hikaru said. "You act like you run on sugar and caffeine, so I know you have plenty of energy to run around here. So I'm not going to take that as an answer! In fact, wait here for a sec." The track runner ran off and grabbed a water balloon out of the large bucket. Coming back over to Kumiko, he placed it in her hands. "Arata's right over there talking to Minoru." he said. "I dunno what exactly happened with you two, but I know you don't like him very much. So just go ahead and chuck that water balloon at his back or something!"

Kumiko stared at the water balloon for a moment, before turning her head back to Hikaru. "But I..."

"But nothing!" Hikaru said. "It's time you stopped moping around already. And I just know that nailing Arata with this will help with that. I saw you laughing at Shigeru when he got all that water dumped on him, so there's no way this isn't what the doctor ordered. Now go ahead and throw it already!"

"Why are you doing this for me, Hikuharu?" Kumiko said.

"Because we're all a team! And a team is only as good as the people who make the effort! And you're not making an effort these days!" Hikaru answered. "If we wanna get out of here, we have to work together. But you're not keeping your head in the game! The others have tried their best and all, but if we're leaving you need to do your part for the team! Now chuck that water balloon!"

Hikaru was right, if they all wanted to leave they had to work together. The only way they could do that was if they all tried their hardest. It's what Chiyo would want, right? Without another thought, Kumiko threw the water balloon, hitting Arata right in the back. "Oh god, that waters cold!" he shouted.

"Hahaha! That's more like it!" Hikaru said. "How did that feel?"

Kumiko was trying to hold back snickers, but failing to do so. "That felt great!" she answered.

"Now that's what I like to see!" Hikaru said. "There's the Kumiko I've gotten to know! You see? You don't have any reason to be moping around when you can have fun like the rest of us! Now go on and enjoy yourself!" Kumiko ran off into the water park, a smile on her face.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Ayame asked as she walked up to the track runner.

"I'm not sure." Hikaru said. "I just did what I could."

"Well whatever it is you did, it worked." Ayame said. "At least now I won't need to keep glancing at her."

"I see you still have that water gun." Hikaru mentioned, changing the subject.

"Fuck yeah, this thing rocks." Ayame said. "I'm not giving this up. I think I'll keep it."

"Same here." Hikaru said. "Anyway, since we both have one, wanna have some fun?"

"What kind of fun?" Ayame asked.

"This kind!" Hikaru said, squirting Ayame in the face and running off.

"You motherfucker, I'll get you for that!" Ayame said playfully as she ran after him.

\--------------------------------

Masaru found himself relaxing in the lazy river, floating effortlessly in the water. It was nice being out of the kitchen for once, not that he spent all of his time there of course. But to be resting against the water was nice. He wanted to stay there for hours if he could.

"Aren't you supposed to be in an inner tube?" Miyako asked, walking on the edge alongside him.

"No, you don't have to. Besides, I find it more fun to go without." Masaru answered. "But what about you? Shouldn't you be in a bathing suit?"

"I am in one." Miyako clarified.

"Then why are you wearing your hoodie?" Masaru asked.

Miyako looked at her black hoodie, pondering the answer to that question. "Comfort." she answered.

"How can you be comfortable in that?" Masaru asked. "It's too warm here to be comfortable in something like a hoodie!"

"I just am, I guess." Miyako said. "Anyway, I'm not taking it off."

"Then how are you going to swim?" Masaru asked.

"I'm not." Miyako stated. "I don't like swimming."

"So wearing the hoodie is your way of saying that you're not going to swim?" Masaru asked.

"...I guess so." Miyako said.

"You know, you're more anti-social than Ryouta, which is saying something." Masaru said. "Why don't you just try to talk to people and make a friend or two?"

"I can't." Miyako answered.

"Why not? I'm sure someone would be willing to be friends with you if you tried." Masaru said.

"It's too risky." Miyako said. "I might say something I'm not supposed to. And then I'll get in trouble for it."

"How could you get in trouble though?" Masaru asked, unable to understand her reasons. "Monokuma isn't going to punish you for talking."

"I said too much. I need to go. Bye." Miyako said, ending the conversation in an instant. She walked away over to the chairs, leaving a confused Masaru.

"Okay then, what was that all about?" he asked himself. "I'm not the type to judge, but she's so weird..."

\-------------------------

"Why did it have to be a water park anyway?" Ryouta mumbled to himself. "Everyone here is just asking to be killed! With so many people here at once, anyone could be a killer in the confusion. They may even do something like stuff the body in one of the slides so they can jam it! I wouldn't put it past them. I can't let my guard down now, I don't want to be next. I'm a solid rock, I'm a solid rock, I'm a solid ro-AUGH!!!!" Feeling something jab him in the side, Ryouta began to fail around madly before falling into the pool next to him. This was it. He was dead. Someone had finally made their move and he was going to be murdered here.

"I think you broke him, Arata."

Ryouta stopped flailing his arms around and looked up. Minoru and Arata were standing at the pool's edge, both of them holding a pool noodle in their hand. That must have been what jabbed him. So he wasn't dead? "Nah, Hoshino is fine. He was just having a moment is all." Arata said, laughing a little.

"What do you two think you're doing?!" Ryouta said as he climbed out of the pool.

"Um, having fun?" Arata said. "Which is a lot more than you are that's for sure. You were just walking around hunched over and mumbling to yourself like a strange person."

"Shut up, you cur! I know what you're planning!" Ryouta shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to wait until you're not looking and murder you in your sleep. You've told me this a thousand times by now." Arata said.

"You should try to calm down, Ryouta." Minoru said. "I know you're paranoid that one of us wants to kill you, but we're having a party! No one would even try to kill you with this many people around. You could at least try to trust people. Or at least try to have fun in here. I mean, if you could try that please?"

"This is all a waste of time! You're just asking to be killed at this point!" Ryouta insisted. "None of this will matter once your body is lying cold and breathless on the cold, hard ground!"

"Just forget about him, Yoshihara. He's in his own little world." Arata said. "If he wants to be miserable, let him.

"I suppose you're right." Minoru said with a sigh. "I just thought that maybe he would see that people aren't as cruel as he seems to think." The two boys walked away, giving up on trying to loosen up Ryouta.

"Idiots. They all are." Ryouta said. He tried to walk away, but he took only three steps until he felt someone push him back into the same pool. He didn't see who his attacker was, but he did hear an amused laugh echo throughout the room.

\----------------------------

"Wow, that wave pool sure was amazing." Takara said as she walked back to the chairs with Satoshi. "I've never been in one before, so that was fun!"

"Well there's still more fun to be had, we don't have to take a break yet." Satoshi said, not-so subtly implying that he wanted to keep going.

"I know, but I want to make sure Kumiko is doing alright." Takara said. "She may be a bit annoying, but I'll take that over gloomy any day of the week."

"Well if yer lookin' for her, she ain't here." Kazumi said, walking over to the pair.

"Huh? Where did she go then?" Satoshi asked.

"Don' ask me." Kazumi said. "She dragged Matsuki somewhere an' vanished. Dat's all I know."

"Well they couldn't have left the place." Takara said. "So they must still be in the water park. But where?"

"WHAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOO!" As if on cue, a loud shout echoed throughout the room. Out of the corner of her vision, Takara saw an inner tube on one of the water slides. With no other options, her, Satoshi, and Kazumi ran over to the water slide exit pool and waited. A moment later, the inner tube came out along with a nervous Shizuka and an energetic Kumiko. "Man, I forgot how much I looooooooove water slides!" Kumiko shouted.

"Yeah, they're great." Shizuka said with a nervous laugh. "Can I please go sit down now?"

"Awwww, you're no fun, Shizu!" Kumiko said.

"I need a break though." Shizuka said. "I don't have as much energy as you, so I need a small rest."

"You go an' sit down fer a while. I'll indulge Akamine here for now." Kazumi said. "I can go on water slides all fuckin' day!"

"Well she sure did bounce back quickly." Satoshi said.

"Yeah, she did." Takara said. "How'd you recover so quickly?"

"Oh I didn't. I'm still super duper sad about losing Chi-Chi." Kumiko answered. "But if I keep being all sad and gloomy then I wouldn't be doing my part around here! Chi-Chi wants me to live my life for both of us, I just know it! So even if I miss her a whole lot and stuff, I gotta try to be happy! That's what she would want! Hikuharu said so and I wanna believe him!"

"Whatever, I guess so long as you're not being all quiet and dreary, I don't care." Takara said. "It's good to have you back either way."

"Glad to be back, Karins!" Kumiko said. She grabbed Kazumi by the hand and pulled her towards the steps to the slides.

"You see, Kara-chan? I was right." Satoshi said as they walked back.

"Right about what?" Takara asked.

"I told you that we all need someone to help us overcome this, and I have a feeling that that's why Kumiko is back to her old self again." Satoshi explained. "We all gotta stick together and pull each other through this."

"Maybe you are right." Takara said. "Who knows, maybe things will get better from now on."

"We can only hope." Satoshi said.

The pool party lasted until the late hours of the night, Monokuma's announcement signifying the end of the day. It was fun, more so than expected. Even though there were a few who would disagree with that. Everyone returned to their rooms with a feeling of satisfaction. But the unity was too good to last, they just wanted to forget that for a moment longer.

**14 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	17. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Daily Life IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I took so long updating this. I had another fic I wanted to finish first. It was one that I was working on for three weeks or so, and I figured I should finish it up. But now it's back to updating this. I was also just plain busy last week. I had a lot going on, but I'm good for now, so I can focus on this.

The atmosphere in the restaurant the next morning was filled with friendliness. Kumiko was back to her normal self, and the pool party seemed to bring the others closer together. The only people who were still acting distant were Miyako, Ryouta, and Shigeru. But what else was new? The only real surprise came from Naomi, who walked into the restaurant looking rotten. Her hair was a bit messy, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes were disheveled. "Nyaomi, what happened to you?" Kumiko asked. "You looked like you were attacked by a ferocious beast!"

"It's nothing." Naomi answered, her tone slightly more harsh than usual. "I had a piss-poor amount of sleep last night. And I would appreciate it if you'd piss off." She walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"Williams sure did manage to get something stuck up her ass, huh?" Arata said.

"She sure is actin' like it." Kazumi said.

"Maybe Nyaomi just needs some time to wake up!" Kumiko said. "Wonder why she couldn't go to sleep very well though. Maybe something happened to her dreamself?"

"Stop talking about nonsense already." Ryouta said. "It's bad enough you don't ever shut up."

"Wow. No fun allowed I guess." Kumiko said sarcastically. Breakfast went on normally from then on, most people talking about the events of yesterday and sharing their experiences. Ayame and Hikaru were congratulating themselves on a job well done as they ate. Naomi sat down with Shigeru and whispered amongst themselves. It wasn't the perfect scenario, but it was better than nothing.

Takara was one of the last people to leave that morning, she had gotten herself caught up in conversations with Satoshi and Kumiko, and headed back to her room to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. She still hadn't properly checked out the gym, and though she wasn't the type to exercise she felt she needed a bit of a warm-up to stay in shape. Making up her mind, she made her way towards the gym.

Entering the health district, she saw Shizuka walking alone. It was strange, usually the painter was constantly hanging around with Kazumi, but the vocalist was no where to be seen. Curious, Takara walked over to her. "Yo, Shizuka, where's Kazumi? You two are always hanging around, aren't you?" she asked.

"Oh, hi Takara!" Shizuka said. "Kazumi said she was still feeling a little worn out from yesterday, so she went to take a quick nap. We're going to meet up later."

"So what's up with you then?" Takara asked. "You going to the gym or something?"

"Actually, I was making my way to the hot springs." Shizuka answered. "Would you mind coming with me? I'd rather be in there with someone than be by myself..."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" Takara asked. "I might be thinking of killing you, after all."

"Oh don't be silly! I can tell you're not going to kill me!" Shizuka said. "I wouldn't have asked you if I thought otherwise."

"Fair enough, I guess." Takara said. "Sure, I'll go with you. I've been meaning to check it out anyway."

"Great! Let's get going then!" Shizuka said. The two girls walked over to the hot spring together. Taking off their clothes and leaving them in the proper buckets, they washed themselves and took a soak in the spring water. It felt wonderful, Takara could feel her worries melting away. This beat taking a bath in the hotels, that was for sure.

"Wow, I never expected a hot spring to feel so good at this time of year." Takara said.

"Yeah, it's so calming..." Shizuka said. "I've found myself coming here quite a bit actually so I can relax. I'm not sure what it is, but I find solace in this place. Which is weird, considering that I've never visited hot springs or bath houses that often before."

"Really? That's strange." Takara said. "Maybe the water here is just enjoyable that you can't stop coming?"

"No, I don't think so." Shizuka said. "I wanted to come here back when the area opened up. I don't know why and it's not making any sense to me."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Takara said. "You just gotta put your mind to it."

"My mind to it?" Shizuka repeated. "Maybe. My head's just been feeling weird lately, so it might just have something to do with that."

"How's it felling weird, exactly?" Takara asked. "Are you having headaches or migraines maybe?"

"No, not like that." Shizuka said. "It just feels like something is itching at the back of my head, trying to make it's way up. But I'm not worrying about it right now. I'm sure I'll figure it all out in time."

"That reminds me, how exactly did you know about how to help Kumiko during her depression?" Takara asked. "The way you were talking, it seemed like this isn't the first time you've gone through something like this."

"Oh yeah, that." Shizuka said. "It's kind of a long story."

"I love those kinds of stories, besides I'm not going anywhere." Takara said.

Shizuka sighed. "Well, alright. If you say so." she said.

"I was very close to my mother as a child. She was really supportive of me, she was kinda like my best friend you could say. My parents loved each other dearly, next to me they were each other's whole world. But then something happened. It was ten years ago, my mother and I were in the car together. I don't remember where we were going, but I want to say it was the beach? Anyway, everything seemed fine at first, Mom was always good on the road. But someone wasn't paying attention, at least I think they weren't, because all of a sudden the car was hit and we went spinning. I don't remember much after that, I blacked out. But when I woke up, there were sirens. Someone was trying to get me out of the car, hoping that I was okay. The car was ruined, and I couldn't see my mother anywhere.

"I was pulled out of the car, and that's when I saw her. She was bleeding, and her limbs were in positions they shouldn't have been. I could tell right then and there that she was... you know. It was horrible, I felt like I was gonna throw up. I think that's why I get sick when seeing other dead bodies. I blacked out again and woke up in the hospital. My father showed up and his heart broke. Don't get me wrong, he was grateful that I was okay, but he just couldn't handle mom's death. He went into a similar state as Kumiko, depressed and not up to doing anything. It was a lot for me to handle at the time. He still tried to raise me, but I don't think he was up to the task.

"I had to learn how to cook, and I started doing cleaning. My father just wasn't up to the task. But I also started painting around that time, and I wanted to make something to help him through everything. At the time, it was an amazing painting, at least for how old I was. I showed it to him and tried to tell him not to be sad. A good amount of time had passed by that point, I'm not sure how long it was exactly, but it was then that my father realized that it was time he tried to move on. I needed him after all. He didn't get over it as quickly as Kumiko, if you ask me she's a special case, but eventually he was back to his old self. Though he became pretty protective of me after that. But hey, I still love him."

"Oh, I'm sorry for what happened." Takara said. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it, it happened a long time ago." Shizuka said. "I'm actually glad I could tell that story to you. I've never told anyone about all that. Wait... have I?"

"What do you mean?" Takara said. "Have you, or haven't you?"

"I'm pretty sure I've never told anyone, but..." Shizuka said. "Maybe I'm just getting confused with something else. I don't know."

"What about you?" Takara asked. "How did you take it?"

"Not very well." Shizuka answered. "I was a little kid, so it was hard to deal with. But I had to suck it up so I could help my father. It wouldn't have done any good if we were both depressed, you know?"

"I guess that makes sense." Takara said. "It's certainly a mature decision to make though."

"I guess..." Shizuka said. "That scarf I wear actually belonged to my mother. She gave it to me before the accident happened. I wear it all the time out of respect, so I can keep her by my side. Though I plan on doing something special with it one day..."

"Oh really? What would that be?" Takara asked.

"Well, um, I think I should tell you later." Shizuka said. "We should finish up here anyway, Kazumi is probably waiting for me. I'll be happy to tell you next time though."

"Good, because that's been bugging me." Takara said. "I'm holding you up to that promise, just so you know."

"Alright then!" Shizuka said. The two of them wrapped up their bath and changed back into their clothes before splitting paths. That was not what Takara expected. Just how many people here had terrible pasts, anyway? It began to feel like everyone had something bad happen to them before coming here.

Speaking of bad things happening to them, Monokuma's voice began to echo throughout the resort. "Attention, Hope's Peak Academy students! Your presence is needed at the front desk immediately! Attendance is mandatory! Failure to report will result in, well, I don't think I need to tell you by this point." With a mischevious laugh, his voice ceased.

"Dammit, of course the peace wouldn't last long." Takara said to herself. She made her way over to the hotel begrudgingly. When she arrived, everyone was already standing around waiting for the news. Though from the looks on their faces, no one wanted to be there. But who would blame them? This whole situation sucked so it was only natural they didn't want to hear whatever Monokuma was about to tell them.

"We're here now, ya stupid bear!" Kazumi shouted. "I'm just gonna go straight to da point. Why'd ya call us here and how fast can we be done with it?!"

"Like he's going to respond to your idiotic call." Shigeru scoffed.

"Hiya, hiya, hiya! I'm hereeee!" Monokuma said, having materialized on the front desk as the composer was speaking. "But must you be so bossy? That's no way to treat your headmaster, you know!"

"Cut the crap already and just tell us what you want." Ayame said.

"Kids these days are so disrespectful!" Monokuma said. "But there's no beating around the bush, I suppose, so I'll just raise the curtains and start the show. I'm here to give you bastards another motive!"

"Another motive?" Satoshi said.

"Of course. I figured there would be more along the line." Shigeru said with a smirk. "So what have you given us to push us along this time around?"

"Well, after observing you all yesterday at your little pool party, I think I have just the thing!" Monokuma announced. "Even though you kids are the hope of the nation, in ways you're no different from every other teenager. You're all driven by your hormones at the end of the day! Whether you're willing to admit it or not, all of you are focused on trying to look sexy or trying to make out with somebody. So I decided to dig up a little dirt and found some pretty juicy stuff!"

"Okay, you lost me. What are you talking about exactly?" Hikaru asked.

"If I don't see a murder soon, I'll tell the entire world about your love lives!" Monokuma said as he twirled in place. "But wait, there's more! I've learned all about what makes you bastards horny, who you've all had crushes on, I even know who here is and isn't a virgin! And I'll reveal it all unless I see some killing!"

"...Is that it?" Masaru asked. "Man, you almost had me worried for a second there!"

"Yeah, this motive seems a lot more... tame than the last one." Shizuka added.

"Not to mention unrealistic." Naomi said. "Destroying all proof of our talents? Tricky, but possible. Finding out everything about our romantic history? Impossible."

"Yeah, if you really know everything about our love lives than prove it!" Ryouta said, in what was probably a rare moment of agreement between others. "I want evidence that you're serious this time!"

"Haaa? You want me to prove it to you?" Monokuma said. "Alright, if you say so!" Reaching behind him, the bear pulled out envelopes with the name of a student on each one. "In these envelopes you'll find a piece of paper. On these pieces of paper is just one of the juicy tidbits I found on you. But not just any info, oh no, these hold the best of them all! The ones that are embarrassing, or ones that can ruin your life should anyone know! Go ahead and see for yourselves, then you'll see I ain't lying!"

He threw the envelopes onto the ground, scattering them at each other's feet. Each student found the one with their name and opened it to read it's contents. Takara spotted hers by Minoru's foot and picked it up. There really was only one way to find out the truth after all. Opening the envelope, she looked over the piece of paper and silently read the contents.

_Takara Tsukuda has a crush on the most attractive reporter in all of Japan._

What the-?! How did he know that?! She never told anyone about this, so how could he have found out?!

"How da fuck did ya get this?!" Takara looked up to see Kazumi shaking her own paper in her hands. Standing next to her, Shizuka's entire face had gone red and she appeared to be trying to use her scarf in order to hide her face. "Dis is somethin' I ain't told ta anyone! Dere ain't any way ya should know dis!"

"Oh but I do, Katsuya!" Monokuma said. "I had to really look hard to find this stuff. So is this enough proof for you, Hoshino?"

"S-shut up!" Ryouta yelled, stuffing his own paper into some pocket. "You've proven your point!"

"But would someone really kill for this?" Miyako asked, her expression and tone still unchanged.

"Mimiya is right!" Kumiko said. "Who cares if someone knows about this stuff? It's pretty silly for anyone to kill somebody over this!"

"You might think so, but there may be some of us who don't." Minoru said.

"Exactly." Shigeru agreed. "Some of us here have information that can ruin our reputations if it got out. The bear even said so. One of us may try to kill based on that alone."

"I can't wait to see who that one will be!" Monokuma said. "Because let's face it, those friendships you made yesterday don't mean diddly squat now! One of you is gonna try and protect their good name, and your silly little bonds won't help you."

"That's not true!" Shizuka shouted. "I may not be close to everyone here, but I know that my own friends wouldn't dare kill me! And neither would I!"

"Well of course you wouldn't, you're too soft!" Monokuma said. "Then again, characters like you tend to have some hidden depths and end up being crazy so who knows! Maybe you'll be a killer if the right buttons are pushed!"

"Oy! Ya do anythin' ta Matsuki and I'll whoop ya in yo ass!" Kazumi proclaimed. "I won' let ya do shit ta her!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Monokuma said, unimpressed by her statement. "So anyway, if there's no killing in twenty-four hours then I'll start telling the whole world about your sex-crazed minds! And I'll even start with the bits written on those pieces of paper. Either way you roll the dice, I'm having some fun tomorrow!" He laughed like a madman before vanishing once again.

"Well, that happened." Takara said.

"Yo, Hikaru, you alright there?" Ayame said, looking at the track runner worriedly. "You're getting all sweaty."

Hikaru was indeed sweaty as the football player had said. He looked nervous, as he kept darting his eyes across the lobby. "Who me? Yeah, I'm fine!" he said unconvincingly. "I just need something to drink is all!"

"I don't care what you need, all I care about is getting away from all of you!" Ryouta exclaimed. "I'm not about to let anyone be the person to kill me!" Just as he did before, the florist ran as fast as he could to get to the stairs.

"It's always a surprise to see him run off like that." Arata commented.

"Well, I guess that means we won't have to worry about him." Naomi said.

"True, but the rest of us are still viable targets." Shigeru stated.

"We should try to stick only with people we can trust." Minoru said. "And try not to go anywhere alone. I don't think we want a repeat of last time."

"I agree. For now we should all try to think before we act." Takara said. "Tomorrow morning we can discuss how to move forward, but for now I think we should try to relax."

"Yeah, I think I need some alone time in my room..." Hikaru said. "I'll, uh, see you all in the morning I guess." Before anyone could say something, the track runner quickly made his way to the stairs.

"We should keep an eye on that one." Shigeru said.

"Who, Hikaru? Come on man, what reason would he have to murder someone?" Ayame asked.

"I'm not sure. But your boyfriend certainly is acting suspicious." Shigeru said.

"My what?! Hell no, you got that wrong!" Ayame quickly denied. "We're friends with a capital F, got it?"

"If you say so..." Masaru said.

Before anything else could happen, Takara decided to take the opportunity to return to her own room. Setting her bag down on the desk, she fell onto her bed. New questions were racing through her head. How did Monokuma figure out all of these things? How could he have information on their love lives and fetishes like that? Sure, some of them may have told people about those things, and some of them could have easy to find information in some aspects, but to know everything about the subject? That was impossible.

She didn't bother to think about it. Even she would admit that there were some questions that couldn't be answered. Trying to think about them any further would only give her a headache. Reaching over to the nightstand, she picked up her journal. She had been so busy that she had forgotten to write in it lately. With nothing better to do, she supposed that now was a better time than ever to catch up. Grabbing her pencil, she opened to a blank page and began to write.

\-----------------------------------

"Matsuki, is dere a reason ya have like ten fuckin' bunny plushies?" Kazumi asked as she stared at the stuffed animals on her best friend's bed. "Seriously, it's kinda weird."

"I don't have that many!" Shizuka called from the bathroom. She had gone in there to change into her pajamas, as she was too nervous to change in her room with a guest right there. Sure, Kazumi was a girl too and definitely didn't care, but Shizuka was self-conscious of her body. She felt uncomfortable with anyone watching her change. "And besides, what's so weird about having rabbit plushies?"

"It's not dat I find weird." Kazumi said. "It's da fact dat ya have only rabbits."

"I just like rabbits is all." Shizuka replied. "They're cute and fluffy and kind. That's all."

"Whatever you say, Matsuki." Kazumi said. The vocalist pulled out the envelope from earlier, staring at it with contempt. How on earth did he find out something like this? She couldn't let anyone find out about it, not even Shizuka could know! If she learned about that then their friendship would be ruined. But there's no way she was gonna kill someone over it, right? Sure she would threaten to beat people up, but...

"Besides, I sorta need something to cuddle in my sleep or else I can't sleep well." Shizuka said as she left the bathroom. "I do it unconsciously, but it still helps keep away... Oh, you're still thinking about the motive..."

"Huh?" Kazumi said, looking up at the painter. "Oh, yeah, the motive..."

"I'm nervous about it too, if that helps at all." Shizuka said, taking a seat on the bed next to Kazumi. "I mean, Monokuma somehow got all of that information on me. If he told everyone then I don't know what I would do."

"Well I doubt what he's got on ya is as bad as mine." Kazumi said. "Not dat I'm sayin' I got it worse than ya or somethin'."

"I'm not so sure about that." Shizuka said. "What's written on my sheet of paper is just embarrassing. People would make fun of me for it, I just know it."

"If they started makin' fun of ya, then I'd beat some sense into 'em." Kazumi said.

"...Kazumi?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think it would be okay if we told each other what was on each other's papers?" Shizuka asked worriedly. "If anyone has to know, I'd rather it be you. Plus maybe, it would make things easier for us in the long run or something."

"Ya alright dere?" Kazumi asked. "I ain't ever seen ya get this down 'bout somethin'?"

"It's just... I feel like I can trust you with this." Shizuka answered, choosing her words carefully. "I don't think the others would look at me the same way if they knew."

"...Ya sure ya wanna do dis?" Kazumi asked. "'Cause you won' look at me the same if I tell ya mine..."

"That's not true, I promise!" Shizuka said. "I won't tell anyone either! Cross my heart and hope to die!"

"...Tell me yours first." Kazumi said. She couldn't say no to Shizuka like that, the painter was nothing but nice to her and she meant what she said.

"Well, alright..." Shizuka said. She moved closer to the vocalist and whispered into her ear. She knew that no one was listening in on them, aside from Monokuma that is, but she wanted to be careful. Kazumi listened carefully, shocked at what she was being told. This was a completely different side of the painter she didn't even know.

"Holy shit, Matsuki. I didn' think ya were so kinky!" Kazumi said. "You're jus' so sweet and everythin' so I'm a little surprised!"

"You're not laughing at me?" Shizuka asked, genuinely confused. Even though she trusted Kazumi, she expected a completely different reaction.

"What? Why would I be laughin' at ya?" Kazumi asked. "This is a big shock and everythin' but I ain't gonna laugh at ya for it."

"Alright, so what about yours?" Shizuka asked.

Kazumi didn't speak. She just grabbed her paper and handed it to the painter. Shizuka took it and looked over the paper slowly, not prepared for what she was reading.

_Kazumi Katsuya is a lesbian._

"Welp, dere ya have it." Kazumi said. "Now ya know da truth 'bout me."

"Oh, um..." Shizuka said. "You like girls..."

"Yeah. Can't tell anyone 'cause my carrer'd be over." Kazumi said. "If everyone knew, I'd have ta quit the music business. Sure, da people overseas'd still like me, but here in Japan? No dice."

"I can see why you wouldn't want anyone to know." Shizuka said, handing back the paper. "So, um, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but does that mean you like..."

"Oh, um... Yes? No? Maybe? I don' fuckin' know." Kazumi said, able to figure out what she was going to say. "But I ain't 'bout ta go after ya or somethin'. I mean for one thing I already said how my life would be screwed if I did. But I can tell jus' by lookin' at ya dat ya don' go dat way. I don' think I'd be able ta compete with one of da guys anyway."

"I see." Shizuka said. "Though you wouldn't have to worry about competing with someone, just so you know. I've never even had a secret admirer."

"You're shittin' me. Someone as cute as ya not popular with boys? No way." Kazumi said.

"It's true. I've never met a boy who has a crush on me." Shizuka said. "Though to be fair, I've never found a boy that I have a crush on. ...I think."

"Ya think?" Kazumi asked.

"I mean, I don't know how to explain it." Shizuka said. "But it feels like there's something I've forgotten... Something important..."

"Somethin' important? Like what?" Kazumi asked.

"That's just the thing, I don't know what it is." Shizuka answered. "And it's driving me nuts!"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Matsuki!" Kazumi said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don' go strainin' yourself over it. Whateva it is, I'm sure you'll remember when the time's right."

"You're probably right, but it just seems like I'm doing something wrong by not remembering." Shizuka said, a tear going down her face.

"Look, I ain't good at dis comfortin' shit. Why doncha jus' get some sleep? I think da stress from dis motive is gettin' ta ya." Kazumi said.

"...Maybe you're right." Shizuka said.

"I'm gonna give ya some space an' head back ta my room." Kazumi said. "If ya need me I'll be right through dat door." She pointed at the doors that connected their rooms together.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning, Kazumi." Shizuka said, trying to smile.

The vocalist got up from the bed and made her way to the door. "Oh wait, I gotta question for ya." she said, stopping in between the doors. "Why're ya always wearin' red? Seems like all yer outfits have red in 'em."

"Oh that?" Shizuka said. "Well, my old school uniform was just a coincidence, but red is my favorite color. It can represent a number of things. Passion, fire, determination, and love..."

\---------------------------------

Takara woke up the next morning feeling uncomfortable. She managed to fall asleep while in the middle of writing in her journal. Great. At least Monokuma didn't mention anything happening overnight, though he may have been doing so on purpose. She arrived at the restaurant and sat down next to Satoshi and Miyako. Everyone seemed to be there, well, almost everyone. "Where's Hikaru and Ayame?" she asked.

"Not here." Miyako said. That much was obvious.

"No one knows." Satoshi said. "They're usually one of the first people here, but nobody's seen either of them yet."

Takara looked closely at the archaeologist. "Did something happen to your leg?" she asked, pointing at a bandaged spot on his right leg.

"I tripped." Satoshi admitted. "I went to the hot springs last night and slipped on something, and my leg started bleeding."

"Yikes. That sucks." Takara said.

"Ryouta hasn't shown up either." Arata commented.

"He's probably too scared ta leave 'is room, da fuckin' wimp." Kazumi said. "I say we let 'im be."

"Masaru sure is taking his time with breakfast this morning." Naomi said, still sounding on edge.

"That is pretty strange." Minoru said. "Maybe someone should go check on him."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" A scream resonated from the kitchen doors.

"Aw shit, what's goin' on in dere?!" Kazumi said as she rushed out of her chair and to the kitchen. Minoru, Takara, and Satoshi followed after her. Inside the kitchen were plates of fresh food sitting on a counter and ready to eat. But down on the floor by the freezer door was Masaru shaking in fear.

"Masaru? What happened? Are you alright?" Minoru asked, rushing down to the patisserie's side.

"I was... trying to put the sausages away in the... freezer..." Masaru said. "But when I went in there... I saw..." Takara and Satoshi went over to the freezer door, which was slightly ajar and seeping out cold air. They opened it completely, the light from the kitchen shining inside and revealing what was inside.

Lying on the ground was Hikaru Nagai, slightly propped up against a large box. His eyes were still open and locked in a shocked expression. Blood was dripping out of his mouth, but his clothes were absolutely soaked in the liquid. His legs were bruised in multiple places and a cut mark was around his neck. It happened again. Someone had murdered another classmate, and the dreadful sound of Monokuma's Body Discovery Announcement told them that they were about to hold another class trial.

**13 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	18. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Deadly Life (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about splitting the investigation into two parts, but I decided against it since there wasn't going to be that much to it this time around. Hopefully it isn't too long, but you never know. I think I did a good job with the difficulty of this case, the culprit isn't obvious at least. I'm almost done with the class trial, and I'm going to finish it up entirely before I post the parts of it, so it might be a while before I post it.

Kazumi and Minoru walked over to the freezer door, unable to keep themselves from staring at Hikaru's corpse. "No fuckin' way." Kazumi said. "Someone managed ta kill Nagai? But with all dat muscle a his he shoulda been able ta fight back or somethin'..."

The others who were waiting in the restaurant piled in, the Body Discovery Announcement calling them in. Kumiko and Miyako made their way to Masaru and helped him off the floor, while the others floor gazed into the open door. Shizuka started to gag at the sight, making Kazumi take her away from the scene so she could calm down. Ryouta and Ayame were still nowhere to be seen. "So it's happened again." Shigeru said. "Someone was threatened by their love life getting out and made their move. It's a shame that Hikaru here was the one who was killed though, I still had use for him."

"Don't you ever stop talking like that?" Takara asked.

"So this means we're holding another class trial..." Kumiko said.

"You betcha!" Monokuma said, standing in the small group looking at the body. Everyone jumped up and moved back. They still weren't used to him appearing like that. "And let me tell ya, this was a fun one! I can't believe how it all played out this time!"

"Shut up and just tell us what you're here for." Naomi said, pushing her glasses back up before they fell off her face.

"Oh you should already know." Monokuma said. "I'm here to deliver the next Monokuma File! Or rather I would, if all of you bastards were here!"

"Woah, what happened here?" Ayame's voice sounded from the door. Her face was covered in what looked like sweat, and her right arm had a set of bandages wrapped around it. Standing next to her was Ryouta, who appeared to have a black eye. "I heard the announcement and ran over as fast as I could. Who kicked the bucket?"

"And just where have you been?" Shigeru asked.

"I wanted to get some early morning exercise, so I went for a quick jog." Ayame explained. "I woke up early and thought it might be a while before breakfast was ready, so I decided to spend my time wisely. I also managed to drag in this loser." Ayame pointed at the florist standing next to her. "I found him trying to grab something to eat from the convinience store so he didn't have to come to breakfast."

"Well why would I want to come when there's a murderer on the loose?!" Ryouta exclaimed.

"Anyway, who was it?" Ayame asked again, ignoring Ryouta.

"It was Hikaru..." Satoshi said. "I'm sorry..."

Ayame's expression was a mixture of shock, fear, and sadness. "Someone... killed Hikaru?" she said. "That bastard... Whoever they are, they're gonna pay."

"Well now, since you're all here now, I think I'll give you the Monokuma File!" Monokuma said.

"But aren't you just going to upload them to the e-Handbooks again?" Masaru asked.

"Nah, I don't really feel like it." Monokuma said. He pulled out some small electronic tablets and gave them to everyone. "Same as before, all the details are here. Or at least the ones you bastards won't be able to figure out on your own. Anyway, I'll see you all at the class trial!"

"Okay, first thing's first. We need to figure out the guard situation." Satoshi said. "I doubt Kazumi has any objections to being a guard again?"

"Nah, I'm cool with it." Kazumi said. "Don' got nothin' better ta do."

"In that case, who shall be the second one?" Minoru asked.

"I'll take that role." Arata said. "Just so long as I don't have to touch his filthy clothes. Or stand in the freezer."

"I don't think you'll need to do that." Takara said. "You just have to stand outside and make sure no one's thinking of any funny business."

"Very well." Arata said. "Then I accept."

"Well then, let's begin shall we?" Satoshi said. Everyone split up and scattered themselves. Some stayed in the kitchen while others left completely.

"Alright then, might as well look at this Monokuma File first." Takara said, turning on the tablet Monokuma had given them. The screen turned on, showing her the details.

**The victim was Hikaru Nagai. He was killed around approximately 6:15 a.m. this morning. His body was found in the kitchen freezer. Cause of death is a slashed throat. There are bruise marks on his legs that were delivered to him right before death.**

Slightly more info this time around it seemed. Which was good, she'd need it. She reread the time of death. 6:15 a.m.? Something about that didn't seem right to her. But it wasn't like they could touch the body and determine that. If the time of death was correct, he was in the freezer for at least an hour. His body would be too cold from being stuffed in there at this point. So what was it that confused her about the time of death? Whatever it was, she was sure to figure it out later.

She looked around the room, taking note of everyone who was still there. Aside from herself and the two guards she could see Kumiko, Shizuka, Minoru, Masaru, and Miyako. She could ask them all questions if she needed to. First thing to do though was examine the body. Walking into the cold freezer, she took a good glance at the deceased. Just as the file had told said, there were bruises scattered throughout his legs. The long cut on his neck also matched the cause of death. Out of curiosity, she examined his pockets for any potential clues. However, they were completely empty. Not even his e-Handbook or room key were inside. That seemed strange.

She suddenly noticed something lying underneath his body. Attempting to lift him up, she saw it was a towel. Not just one of the ordinary hotel towels, but one of the beach towels from the pool party. What would one of those be doing here? And why a towel at all? Looking around the freezer for anything out of the ordinary, such as the weapon, she happened to notice the food cart on the other side. What was something like that doing in here? So many questions, not enough answers. Takara thought about her next course of action. Asking around for alibis was pointless, everyone would say they were still sleeping. Might as well find out what the others were thinking.

Leaving the freezer, she happened to notice that Kazumi had grabbed a plate of food and was scarfing it down. "Um, are you sure this is the right time to be doing that?" Takara asked.

"What? I'm hungry!" Kazumi said. "And all dat food sitting dere ain't helpin'! 'Sides, ain't no rule statin' I can't eat an' guard at da same time!"

"If you say so." Takara said. She walked over to Shizuka, who was looking through the dishwashers. "Find anything interesting?" she asked.

Shizuka shook her head. "No. Not a thing." she said. "I thought that maybe the culprit decided to hide the weapon among the dirty dishes or something. But there's nothing here. Unless they managed to clean off all the blood in time, which I kinda doubt."

"I hear you there." Takara said. "Got any thoughts on this?"

"Not really. All I can think about is why they would want to kill Hikaru of all people." Shizuka said. "He doesn't seem like a pushover type, especially with those muscles. They only way I can think he would be killed easily is if he was caught off guard. I would've expected there to be a struggle but..."

"I agree, it is confusing why they chose Hikaru." Takara said. "But then again, it could just be a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kind of like Chiyo."

"Maybe." Shizuka said. "I guess we won't know for sure until we uncover the culprit themselves. Anyway, I'm gonna keep searching. The weapon must be around here somewhere..." The painter walked away and opened up the cabinets in her search. Takara didn't think she would get much else out of her, so she walked over to Masaru. Surely he would have some information.

"You doing okay there?" she asked. "Finding a body in the freezer had to have left a shock."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Masaru said. "Though I'm telling you, this just isn't my day. First I burn my hand while trying to make breakfast, then I have to go to the Health Center to bandage it up since there aren't any in the first aid kit in here, and then I find a dead body."

"There's a first aid kit in here?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, it's under the sink." Masaru said. "It just has the simple stuff in it, you know, for minor injuries. I was going to grab some bandages from there, but they vanished! It's strange."

"Anyway, I need to ask you some questions, if you don't mind." Takara said.

"No, no, go ahead. I'm an open book." Masaru insisted.

"Okay, so what time does the restaurant open again?" Takara asked.

"The doors unlock at 6:45 a.m. so I can cook if I need to." Masaru said. Just as she thought. The location and time weren't adding up.

"Next question, did you see anything suspicious when you came into the kitchen?" Takara said.

"No, not at all." Masaru answered. "Aside from those missing bandages, everything was exactly as I left it."

"Third question, was the freezer empty when you came here?" Takara asked.

"Yeah. Hikaru wasn't in there when I took the sausages out." Masaru said. "Maybe he showed up in there while I was grabbing the bandages..."

"And finally, did you see anyone between when you woke up and when you returned to the kitchen?" Takara said.

"No. Not a soul." Masaru answered. "Although the restaurant is kinda big. Maybe the culprit was hiding there waiting for me to leave?"

"Who knows." Takara said. "Thanks though, that's all I needed from you."

"Anything I can do to help." Masaru said.

Takara walked away, finding Kumiko standing in the doorway of the freezer. She was staring inside attentively. "Mysteriouser and mysteriouser..." Kumiko said to herself.

"And what exactly is so mysterious?" Takara asked.

"Wellllll, it's just too clean here!" Kumiko said. "Tooooooo clean for a murder..."

"It's possible the culprit cleaned the place up afterwords." Arata suggested. "Fujiwara tried that after all, so it's not completely out of the question."

"Nuh-uh. I don't think so." Kumiko said. "If Hikuharu died from a slashed throat like Teddie's file said, then this place should be super messy!"

"She's right, for a scene like this it's strange that there's little to no blood." Minoru added.

"Slashed throats make things really really really bloody!" Kumiko continued. "But the only thing here that has any blood on it is Hikuharu!"

"Whoever the culprit is, they probably found a way to clean themselves off so they could blend in with the rest of us." Minoru said. "But for the floors, walls, and other items in the freezer to be absolutely spotless as well? I don't think so."

"Not in this much time, that's for sure!" Kumiko continued. "It's only been around an hour since Hikuharu died, and since our sneaky little culprit washed themselves sparkly clean somehow there's just not enough time to clean this place so thoroughly."

"Even if the crime took place somewhere else here in the restaurant, it shouldn't be so free of blood." Minoru stated. They could tell all that just from a lack of blood?

"Okay, I can understand why Yoshihara would know about this," Arata said. "But why on Earth does Akamine know so much about it?"

"When making any work of fiction, knowing your stuff is vital, vital, vital!" Kumiko answered. "Research may be booooring, but if I want to make successful comics then I need to look up anything important! People look for accuracy in these things, Pervert!"

"I've already told you, I'm not a pervert!" Arata insisted.

"Hold on a second, how would the culprit have cleaned the blood off themselves?" Takara asked. "The showers are off at nighttime, and the pool and hot springs are closed."

"I dunno!" Kumiko bluntly stated. "But one thing's for sure, they found a way to get rid of the blood on them, even if they just changed clothes!"

So the culprit managed to clean the blood off of themselves and the crime scene? That couldn't be right. Thinking about what she had found so far, Takara realized that the kitchen couldn't be the crime scene. Details just didn't match up. She had to look somewhere else. Before she left though, she looked for the first-aid kit Masaru had spoken of. Opening it up, she saw that it was indeed lacking any bandages. Everything else was there though. However, she had no reason to believe that Masaru didn't take them. She had more important things to do.

Leaving the kitchen, she spotted Ryouta sitting alone at a table and placing an ice pack over his black eye. This was her chance to ask where he was this morning. "Hey Ryouta, just what were you doing this morning?"

"Why is it any of your business?!" Ryouta shouted.

"Because you could be guilty of murder. And I need to know what you were doing." Takara explained.

"You think I'm the culprit?!" Ryouta nervously asked, his voice cracking. "T-that's absurd! I'm not about to kill someone for any ridiculous reasons!"

"Then why were you missing at breakfast?" Takara asked.

"Because I didn't want to be around any of you!" Ryouta answered. How else would he have answered that question? "But if you really must know where I was, I didn't come anywhere near the kitchen! I woke up earlier than usual and went to grab some food from the convenience store so I didn't have to eat breakfast with a potential murderer. On my way there though, I saw someone suspicious wandering around the area. I couldn't see their face, it was still a little dark. But before I knew it they punched me in the face!" He pointed at his back eye. "I was knocked out after that. When I came to, that stupid football player was dragging me back here!"

"And what time did all this happen?" Takara said.

"I don't know, around 6:30 I'd say? I wasn't paying attention to the clock!" Ryouta insisted. "Now would you get away from me?! I'd like my space!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to shout." Takara said, leaving the restaurant. She thought about the florist's alibi. Was he telling the truth? Or was he trying to save his own skin? She made her way to Hikaru's room, hoping to find a clue of sorts in there. At the top of the stairs, she saw Naomi looking over a baggage cart. Had that always been there? "What's this doing here?" she asked.

Naomi turned to her, obviously displeased. "It was used to transport something, of course." she replied, acting as if it should be obvious. "Whatever it was though, it's gone now."

Takara tried to think about what this was used for and where it had gone. Her mind kept drawing up a blank though, so she decided to move on. Near the end of the hall was Hikaru's room, the door already open once again. She wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what she found.

The entire room was a mess. Pictures and knick-knacks were scattered and broken. The desk was overturned. What appeared to be scratch marks littered the walls. And then there was the blood. From the bedsheets to the TV and the floor, it was all over the place. Just what the hell happened in here?

"Ah, Takara. How nice of you to join me." Shigeru, who had been standing at the back of the room with a piece of paper in his hands, said. "I assume you also believed that the kitchen was not the real crime scene."

"Yeah, pretty much..." Takara said. "Jeez, this place is a wreck."

"What would you expect from a crime scene?" Shigeru said, returning to glance at the paper in his hand.

"But you'd think that the culprit would try to clean up a little." Takara replied. "I mean, they went to the trouble of moving the body so you'd think they'd move the crime scene."

"You raise a valid point. Still, this makes it easier for us, wouldn't you say?" Shigeru asked with a smirk.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Takara answered. Her eyes drifted to the bathroom door, a small trail of blood leading towards it. Strange, why would there be blood here of all places? The attack seemed to be closer to the bed. Maybe there was something she could find inside. Walking into the bathroom, she turned on the lights and looked around. At first glance, nothing was out of the ordinary. She soon noticed the state of the towel rack, as it was missing all but one towel. Did the culprit try to use them to clean the place? No, that couldn't be right. It would take a lot more than a few towels to even attempt cleaning this room. So why were they missing?

The next item of interest was the water gun lying on the floor. That's right, he had one from the pool party and decided to keep it. Taking a closer look at it, Takara could see that it had been used recently. Underneath it was a small puddle of water. Could this be what the culprit had used to remove the blood off of them? It wasn't out of the question. There was no doubt in her mind that this would come in handy later.

The final item of importance was in the sink. The bathroom lights caused whatever was sitting in there to gleam. Walking over, she found just what was missing from the kitchen. The weapon. A non-disposable razor covered with blood. This had to be the weapon, it was perfect for sliting someone's throat. But why was it discarded here in the sink? For every answer she found, more questions arose.

With nothing else of importance to be found, Takara left the bathroom and returned to the main area of the room. She looked down at the floor, hoping to find something scattered among the junk. As luck would have it, hiding underneath a picture frame was a room key. Could this be Hikaru's? There was only one way to find out. She stepped outside of the room with the key in hand. "Hey, Monokuma! I need you to do something for me real quick!" she called out.

"Yeeessss? What can I do for you?" Monokuma asked, appearing behind the journalist.

"I need you to reset the lock on this door." Takara explained. "I need to know if this is the right card key or not, it's vital to the investigation."

"Alright! But only because you asked so nicely." Monokuma said in a sickly sweet voice he was obviously faking. "Just give me one second!" The bear disappeared, and Takara shut the door in front of her. She glanced over at the door to her left, curious to know who Hikaru's neighbor was. The nameplate on the door said "Ryouta". She wondered about his possible involvement with this case. Could he have something to do with this, or was someone just trying to use him as a scapegoat? Her thoughts were interrupted by the return of Monokuma. "Okay! The lock for this door is back online!" he gleefully said.

Takara took the key out and swiped it through the card reader. But the door didn't open. It remained locked. This wasn't Hikaru's key after all. So in that case, who did it belong to? She knew it wasn't her own key, leaving twelve other possibilities. But did she have the time to check every single door? "Okay, that's all I needed." she said. "You can unlock it now."

"Don't you think it's strange that the key in this room doesn't belong to it's owner?" Monokuma asked. "I wonder what could have happened to it."

"Don't you know everything about the crime though?" Takara asked.

"Well of _course_ I do! But you don't!" Monokuma said. "There's no need to take what I said so seriously!"

"Could you just leave? I don't need you anymore." Takara said.

"What is it with you kids?! Are manners all lost to this generation?" Monokuma said angrily before vanishing.

Well, if she was going to check this room key, she better do it now. She walked over to Ryouta's door and was ready to swipe the key again.

"Kara-chan! I finally found you!" Satoshi came running down the hall, looking worn-out. "I've been looking for you!"

"Satoshi? What do you want? I'm kind of busy." Takara said.

"I found something interesting that might be a clue! You have to come see it, hurry!" Satoshi exclaimed.

Takara thought for a moment. Whatever Satoshi had found could be important, but she might lose the time to check the room key she found. Was it worth the risk? Or would it just be a waste of time? She let out a sigh, whatever this was better be worth it. "Alright Satoshi, lead the way." she said.

"Oh thanks, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. "Come on and follow me! You won't regret this!" The two of them ran back down the hall and towards the stairs. On the way out, Takara noticed Shizuka staring at the space beneath the stairs. What was she doing? She didn't have the time to ask, she had to follow Satoshi. The archaeologist led her to the shopping district and brought her to the laundromat.

"Um, Satoshi, why did you bring me here of all places?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I thought that maybe the culprit would take a page from Kaito's book or something." Satoshi explained. "So I came here to see if I could find anything. And I did! Look over here!" He gestured to a washing machines that was currently running.

"Satoshi, I fail to see what's so important about the washing machine." Takara said. She was wasting her time on this?

"But think about it, Kara-chan. Why would a washing machine be running this early in the day?" Satoshi asked. "I've lost track of the time, but it can't be much later than nine. Which means someone came here early and washed their clothes!"

"Okay, so what's inside?" Takara asked.

"I'm not sure." Satoshi said. "I wanted to let you know right away that I forgot to check."

Takara let out an audible groan as she walked over to the machine. She opened up the top and pulled out one of the cold, wet, contents. In her hands she held a towel from the hotel room. What was something like this doing in the laundry? But what was more intriguing was the slightly faded spots on the towel. There was no doubt about it, this was blood. She pulled out another piece of laundry, this time a black t-shirt. It too had faded blood on it. She looked at the other things that had been put in the wash, a pair of boxers and two more towels. All of them had blood on them. These towels had to be the ones missing from Hikaru's room. But the t-shirt and boxers were a mystery. No one here wore something like this. So who did they belong to?

"Maybe they're someone's pajamas?" Satoshi asked, almost as if he could read Takara's mind.

"Why do you say that?" Takara asked.

"Just a hunch, I suppose." Satoshi answered. "I can't say who's though, but they're definitely not mine."

A chime sounded out and the monitor in the room turned on, showing Monokuma's face. "You kids are so boring to watch some times, you know that?" he said, clearly irritated. "I'm so bored that I can't wait any longer. How about we start our class trial now? Please proceed down the back path and report to the mountain so we can begin." The monitor shut off.

Damn, she didn't get the chance to test the key! Stupid Satoshi! Though to his credit, this hadn't been a complete waste of time. At least she found those towels. But she didn't feel any closer to who the murderer was. Hopefully the class trial would bring some things to light. "Come on, let's get going." Takara said, making her way to leave.

She walked all the way back to the hotel and went around the back to the pathway. As she made her way towards the mountain, it felt like it was taking less time than before. Maybe it was because she had gone this way already? She entered the clearing and found the other students waiting for her there. Well, not exactly all the students.

"Ryouta's not here." Shizuka said.

"Does he really think he can get away with this? Monokuma's just gonna punish him if he doesn't get his ass over here." Ayame said. Takara's eyes drifted over to the bandage wrapped around her arm.

"Say Ayame, what happened to your arm?" she asked. "And where were you this whole time? I didn't see you during the investigation."

"Oh, I was in the gym trying to let off some steam." Ayame said. "I'm just so pissed off about Hikaru's death that I felt like kicking something. As for the arm, well, I banged myself up pretty good last night in the gym so I needed to fix this up. I start picking at the scabs I get so I grabbed some bandages before anything happened."

"Hey, hey, hey! It's Monokumaaaa!" The bear said. "I think we can skip the pleasantries this time around and- Wait a second! Someone's not here!"

"That would be Hoshino." Arata said.

"I think he holed himself up in his room, the coward." Naomi said.

"Oh did he?" Monokuma said. "Hang on a sec, I'll have to go get him myself!" He vanished once again, leaving the twelve others to stand around and wait. Before long, they could hear the sound of someone angrily yelling. Monokuma returned down the path from the hotel with a protesting Ryouta being dragged behind him. Kazumi couldn't help but laugh at his situation.

"What's the meaning of this?! Let me go! I'm not participating in this stupid class trial a second time!" Ryouta shouted.

Monokuma threw him in with the others. "Sorry, but you don't call the shots around here! That's my job!" he said. "The only other option you have is punishment!"

"P-p-punishment?!" Ryouta stuttered. ".......Fine, I'll do it. But I won't enjoy it!"

"That's fine! I don't need you to!" Monokuma said. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't! The more despair, the better!"

"Can we just get on with it already?" Ayame asked. "I want to get this whole thing over with."

"Good point! Why waste our time here, when you could all be in there debating?" Monokuma said. "You know the drill. Go into the cave and get on the platform. I'll be waitinggggg!" He disappeared once again.

"You heard the man, er, bear. Let's get moving." Masaru said. The students all walked into the cave, staying silent as they made their way towards the platform. Thirteen students, an unlucky number, were about to face their second trial. And if they made the right choice, twelve students would be forced to watch a grisly execution. Some of them began to remember Kaito's fate, and felt chills down their spines. None of them wanted to imagine who would be the next to die, and how they'd be killed. They all stepped onto the platform, Kumiko being the one to push the button forward.

Just who had killed Hikaru, and why? Takara began to wonder though if this case was really what it seemed. Things weren't always how they appeared after all. There had to be more to this case than meets the eye. But what could it be? She didn't have the time to think about it, as the platform came to a complete stop. They left at the docking station and walked towards the doors. Someone among them let out a deep breath, it was hard to tell who, as Takara reached for the door and swung it open. Pushing the curtains open for the second trial of life and death.

**13 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	19. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Class Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I finished writing the trial sooner than I expected. Oh well, I'll just upload this bit by bit. And in the meantime I'll be starting to write Chapter 3's Trial, which is gonna be a real doozy let me tell you that. Anyway, enjoy the trial!

The thirteen students entered the courtroom expecting the same set-up as last time, but instead of the black and purple room they were greeted to previously, they noticed that the room had changed. Monokuma must have been bored in his spare time, as now the walls were painted to give off the impression of water. The lights in the room gave off the impression of shimmering water. Small plastic fish were stuck to the walls, a few of them hanging from the ceiling. The floor was now covered in sand, adding to the underwater illusion. "Well, how do you like my redecorating?" Monokuma asked. "I thought it would be a good idea to keep things fresh, you know? If you're coming down here all the time, it's not gonna be fun seeing the same old set-up!" No one responded. "Aw come on, you're acting like someone just died! Oh wait... That's exactly what happened!" Monokuma proceeded to laugh in his throne.

"Don't you have any respect for another person's life?" Shizuka asked, her head downcast.

"I think you've had this discussion before." Miyako said.

"You all know the drill, go take your places at the podiums so we can begin." Monokuma said.

Everyone walked over to their podiums once again. As she took her place, Takara noticed there had been some new additions. Two new picture stands had joined them. In between Shigeru and Kumiko was Hikaru's picture. And right next to her was Kaito's picture, although his was a bit more customized. Instead of the red X was an image of two dip pens in the shape of an X. It seemed that culprits would get their own customized portraits. It served as a reminder of his gruesome execution. She didn't want to think about it now, she had to focus on the trial.

"I shall now explain the rules of the Class Trial to you all." Monokuma said. Seriously? He had to say them again? What purpose did that serve? "Your goal here is to weed out the student who broke the order of our little vacation. If the innocent can successfully determine who the guilty party is, then only the one who committed the crime will be punished by yours truly. But if you all vote an innocent as the killer, then the punishment shall be delivered to all of the innocent students! And the guilty little shit will be allowed to leave our wonderful Paradise Resort! Now then, let's begin!"

"I assume there are no objections to a review of the facts again?" Shigeru asked. "It seemed to work last time after all."

"Nope, you're good to go, your highness." Ayame said.

Shigeru chose to ignore the nickname and proceeded with the summary. "The victim this time was Hikaru Nagai. He died around 6:15 a.m. this morning and was found in the kitchen freezer. The cause of death is obvious this time around, as it was a slit throat. There are large bruises on both of his legs that were dealt at the attack. I believe that's everything." he said.

"So where are we gonna start this time?" Kumiko asked, her head bobbing from side to side. "We gonna go over alibis again or something like before?"

"No, I don't think that's going to help us this time around." Takara said. "This took place during the nighttime hours after all. So unless two people were together all night long, no one has an alibi."

"We don' even need ta ask fer alibis! I know who did it!" Kazumi said. So they were starting with this already. Takara had hoped this could be avoided at such an early point. "It's gotta be Hoshino!"

"Huh?! W-why is it me?!" Ryouta asked, jumping back in shock. "What makes you think I would stoop so low as to kill someone?! I-it obviously had to be one of you lowlifes, especially if you're trying to b-blame me!"

"Um, I don't think blaming us back is gonna get anyone else to believe you." Minoru said.

"No one asked you, so shut up!" Ryouta shouted.

"Oh, okay. Sorry." Minoru said with a nervous smile.

"You really need to toughen up a little." Ayame said. "It's like you don't even have a backbone."

"Could we _please_ get back on track here?" Shigeru asked, his eye twitching slightly.

"Kazumi, why on earth do you think Ryouta is the culprit?" Shizuka asked.

"He's been actin' suspiciously dodgy all mornin' long!" Kazumi said. "Ya even went so far as ta try an' avoid da class trial. If dat ain't strange, I dunno what is!"

"But Ryose is always dodgy and freaked out." Kumiko pointed out. "It's his character type! Trying to use that as proof against him is kiiiiiinda flawed."

"Yeah, the dude is always trying to avoid people." Minoru added. "He's just acting like his normal self. That doesn't make him a murderer."

"Then why did I find him trying to sneak into the convenience store earlier?" Ayame asked, pointing a finger at the florist. "That sounds pretty damn suspicious to me, wouldn't you say?"

"I already told you, I didn't want to be eating with any potential murderers!" Ryouta insisted. "Especially with a new motive announced! I'm not about to blindly trust you people like Chiyo did!"

"Um, it feels too soon for you to be saying something like that." Masaru said.

"A likely story." Ayame said, unconvinced. "You're just trying to cover your own obvious guilt like the hypocrite you are."

"Who're you calling a hypocrite?!" Ryouta shouted, grabbing his stand and leaning forward. "Are you lacking all common sense of something?! Or is your football-filled brain too stuffed with junk to think straight?!"

"Oh come on, you're a total hypocrite!" Ayame said. "The instant anyone suggests you're suspicious, you flip out and call them the killer! And you constantly claim we're gonna kill you and can't be trusted! That sounds exactly like a hypocrite and you know it!"

Ryouta's teeth began to grind together. "Well at least I-"

"That's enough!" Takara shouted, slamming her fists against the podium. Everyone stopped talking and stared at her in shock. "We don't even have any proper evidence of anyone's guilt yet, let alone Ryouta. Instead of trying to push the blame like last time, don't you think we should actually debate first?"

"I agree with Takara." Shizuka said, tears forming in her eyes. "If we just keep saying 'this person did it' with little to go on, we're not going to move anywhere. All it's going to do is get us mad at each other and make things worse. I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible. So please, stop blaming each other with no proof!"

"Finally, someone around here is making sense." Shigeru said.

"Shit, sorry Matsuki." Kazumi said, looking down at the ground with her arm behind her head. "Yer right. Even if Hoshino's jumpy as fuck, I don' got nothin' ta prove anythin'. I'm jus' sick of his shit, ya know?"

"I'm right here, you know!" Ryouta said. "Quit talking as if I'm not here anymore!"

"It's alright, Kazumi. I forgive you." Shizuka said with a smile. "Just try not to do it again, okay?"

"Did everyone just forget my existence or something?!" Ryouta shouted.

"Yes, well, now that that's out of the way, where should we begin?" Arata asked. "There must be something to discuss after all."

"I say we talk about the weapon." Satoshi said. "I'm sure that'll bring something to light."

"Was there even a weapon at the crime scene?" Minoru asked, scratching his head.

"There had to have been one. We just need to figure out what it was." Miyako said.

"If we recall the cause of death," Naomi began, looking through the Monokuma File again. "We know that he had his throat slashed. Therefore, the weapon was definitely something with a blade."

"Considering he was found in the kitchen, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that a knife of sorts was used." Minoru said. "But I don't remember seeing anything lying around that looked like it was used as the weapon."

"They probably went to extra measures to hide it this time around. They wouldn't want to be so easily caught like Fujiwara was." Arata suggested. "Maybe they put it in one of the dishwashers."

"No, I checked them all and there was nothing that looked like it was used as the weapon." Shizuka countered. "I checked everywhere else I could think a weapon would be hidden, but I had no luck."

"I also looked around, and nothing seemed out of place." Masaru said.

"Hold on just a second!" Ryouta shouted. "How can we take Masaru's word for granted?! He's always in the kitchen before anyone else, so he could be the one who did it!"

"Actually, you're wrong!" Takara said. "Masaru couldn't have done it."

"Oh? And how do you know?" Ryouta said. "You can't go protecting him for special reasons, you know."

"The time of death makes it impossible." Takara said, ignoring his second comment. "The restaurant doors don't open up until 6:45. If the crime took place around 6:15, half an hour earlier, there's no way Masaru did it."

"But the doors to the restaurant shut at nighttime, don't they?" Naomi asked. "It's impossible that they'd open up fifteen minutes before then.

"Actually, they do." Monokuma said. "I open them up for Pastry Boy so he can make you bastards some food. After all, someone around here has to make those meals!"

"Besides, I didn't see anything in the kitchen when I went there." Masaru said. "When the place opened up, I didn't find a body in the freezer."

"Wait a second, how could the body not be in the freezer when you entered?" Arata asked.

"Don't ask me, I'm not an expert on these kinds of things!" Masaru said. "Someone else must have placed it there."

"Hmph. Excuses..." Ryouta said.

"So how could the weapon just vanish like that?!" Kumiko asked. "It couldn't have grown legs and walked away!"

"What if that's because the weapon and the body were in two different places?" Takara suggested.

"What? Dat's jus' crazy!" Kazumi said.

"It's not that hard to believe actually." Takara said. "I don't think the weapon is anywhere in the same room as the body, because the crime was committed in a different place!"

"A different place?" Miyako said.

"And just where do you think it happened then?" Arata asked.

"The deceased's own room!" Takara said.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up!" Kumiko said. "If he was killed aaaaaaaaaall the way in his hotel room, then how did he get to the freezer? The Monokuma File explicitly states he was killed in the freezer!"

"Actually, it only says his body was _found_ in the freezer, not that he died there." Minoru said. "It never said anything about him being killed there. The wording's probably intentionally misleading."

"And Masaru did just tell us the body wasn't there when he entered the kitchen, so it would add up to his story." Shizuka said.

"But even so, there's no way that he was killed that far away from where he was discovered." Arata argued. "Nagai would have be an idiot to let himself be murdered there of all places."

"Actually, I agree with her." Shigeru said. "That idiotic runner had to have been killed in his own room."

"Say what?" Ayame said, her arms crossed and a mischievous smirk on her face. "Your highness is willing to listen to someone else? What on earth caused this?"

"I happened to glance at Hikaru's room, and the state it was in says everything. Doesn't it Takara?" Shigeru said.

"There was definitely an attack of some kind in there." Takara said. "There's blood everywhere and the room itself is a whole mess. Plus, I think I found something in there that could fit as the weapon."

"Really? What is it?" Masaru asked.

"Simple, it's a razor." Takara said. "A non-disposable one at that."

"A razor?!" Kumiko asked.

"Hmmm, looking at it, it most definitely matches the victim's wound." Minoru said. "It's not out of the question to say that this is the weapon."

"How did you even know the body had been moved though?" Naomi asked.

"Kumiko gave me that little bit of knowledge." Takara said.

"Huuuuh? I did?" Kumiko said.

"That's right." Takara replied. "You told me that the kitchen and freezer were too spotless for someone to have died from a slashed throat. So I realized that the murder had to have happened elsewhere! I thought his room would be a good place to check first, and the scene there was much more fitting."

"So if he was killed in his room, then how did he end up in the freezer without me noticing?" Masaru asked.

"He had to have been transported there, duh." Ryouta said. "The real question is how the culprit managed to get him there without leaving any evidence."

"They must have used something to move him, the dude was pretty big so he'd be too heavy to just carry there with your bare hands." Ayame said.

"But what could carry a heavy guy like Hikaru from his room all the way to the restaurant without Masaru seeing it?" Minoru asked.

"Wait, I jus' thought of somethin'!" Kazumi said. "What if dey used a baggage cart or whatever they're called?"

"That... could actually work." Shigeru said with wide eyes, shocked that Kazumi made such a good point. "It would be an easy way to transport his body to the stairs."

"I did see a baggage cart near the top of the stairs." Naomi said. "But there was no way to get him to the first floor from there. The lift is still out of service, and you can't take the cart down the stairs."

"We've already established that he's too heavy to carry as well." Masaru added. "So getting him to the first floor is impossible."

"Actually, I may have found something that could do it!" Shizuka said with a smile. "I found something peculiar hiding under the stairs, a particular piece of equipment that doesn't belong in the hotel."

"Oh? Do share, Shizuka." Satoshi said.

"It was a small trampoline, and it happened to have a few bloodstains on it." Shizuka said. "If I had to make a guess, the culprit used the trampoline to throw Hikaru's body down to the first floor. Then they moved the body into the restaurant."

"Then they hid the trampoline under the stairs so no one would notice." Arata said. "That must be it."

"But where did da trampoline come from?" Kazumi asked. "Is dere any place in da resort ya can find one?"

"Actually, there's some trampolines in the gym." Ayame said. "The culprit must have forgotten to return it or thought no one would find it."

"Unfortunately for them, Shizuka and her amazing eye for detail spotted it." Minoru said. "Her eyes save the day once again!"

Shizuka blushed. "I didn't do that much though." she said. "It was just simple observation, anyone could find it if they looked hard enough."

"But what did they use to move the body over into the restaurant?" Naomi asked. "Another baggage cart?"

"But dere ain't any of 'em on da first floor las' time I checked." Kazumi said.

"Ooooo! I know, I know, I know!" Kumiko said, her hand raised as she jumped in place. "They must have used the food cart to get Hikuharu into the kitchen! There was one sitting in the freezer with him, so it makes perfect sense!"

"It's certainly big enough to lug him around." Ayame said. "It wouldn't break under his weight after all."

"And there's no other explanation as to why it was there." Masaru said. "It definitely wasn't in there when I started preparing breakfast."

"I don't understand something about this though." Shizuka said. "Why would they take Hikaru's body and move it?"

"I believe I can provide that answer." Shigeru said with a smirk. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to the other students. "This was stuffed in the trashcan in his room." The contents of it were very clear.

_There's something important that I want to talk to you about. I have to do it alone though. Come meet me in my room at ten minutes after 6. You have to be alone, I don't trust anyone but you right now after that motive. I'm counting on you._

"A note?" Satoshi said.

"Exactly. Guessing from where I found it and the state of the area it was in, Hikaru addressed this letter to the culprit." Shigeru said. "He must have wanted to speak with them in private, but unknown to him they were already planning his murder."

"See, Hikaru was an idiot! He trusted someone only to get murdered by him!" Ryouta said. "This is why I tried to keep my distance!"

"Hoshino, would you kindly shut up?" Arata asked. "Your opinion isn't needed."

"Besides, it isn't his fault. He couldn't have known someone would try to kill him." Shizuka said.

Something about that idea didn't seem right. Hikaru wasn't the brightest, but there's no way he could make a mistake like that. "Are you sure about that, Shigeru?" Takara asked.

"And just what the hell is wrong with what he said?" Naomi asked. "What other option is there?!"

"Woah, settle down there, Naomi!" Masaru said. "We should let Takara explain herself, don't you think?"

"Go on then, tell me where I have fault in my logic." Shigeru said. "If anyone could find it, it would be you."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? It was so hard to tell with him. "If this was just a simple throat slashing then I would agree with you." Takara said. "But what about all those bruises on his legs?"

"Huh? What bruises?" Ayame asked.

"How can you not know about the bruises?!" Ryouta asked. "The damn Monokuma File clearly mentions them, and they were brought up at the beginning of the trial!"

"They were delivered before his death." Minoru added. "Which makes sense, why would you try to bruise a body when it was already dead, you know?"

"How can you take this so lightly? It's kinda freaking me out." Ayame said.

"Maybe they tried to incapacitate him." Miyako said. "It would make him easier to kill."

"I don't think that's all there is to it." Takara said. "I feel that there's more to this then we're seeing."

"What da fuck are we missin'?" Kazumi asked. "Things are makin' perfect sense ta me!"

"But if the attack was planned, don't you think the culprit would have tried to clean up the mess they made in Hikaru's room?" Takara said. "And why did they take Hikaru's card key instead of their own?"

"How do you know they took his room key?" Shizuka asked.

"Well, it's nowhere in his pockets for starters, which is pretty strange seeing as the culprit was trying to move him so it looked like he was killed somewhere else." Takara said. "And the key I found in his room doesn't work on the door. It was probably on accident, but the culprit had to have taken his key instead of their own."

"So whoeva' has a key dat don' work on their door is da culprit, right?" Kazumi said.

"We don't have time to test the room keys though." Naomi said, getting irritated. "We'd have to go all the way back to the hotel and try every single door individually."

"Another thing I can't help but wonder about all this is where the culprit got the razor from." Takara said.

"Maybe one of the boys had one?" Kumiko said. "I don't see anyone else needing a sharp pointy thing like that after all!"

"I don't use razors." Satoshi said.

"Neither do I." Masaru added.

"Why would I need a razor?!" Ryouta asked, making the insistence that it wasn't him.

"I don't use those kinds of razors." Minoru said.

"My razor is still packed away." Shigeru said.

"I haven't needed to use mine yet." Arata said.

"So if none of them took it out, it means that this was Hikaru's razor." Takara said.

"Are you saying this was an unplanned murder?" Miyako asked.

"In a sense." Takara said. "I don't think Hikaru invited someone to his room and was killed there by the person he trusted. Rather, I think he purposely invited someone over in order to kill them."


	20. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Class Trial II

"Aw come on!" Kazumi said, unconvinced by Takara's suggestion. "Hikaru might be stupid, but he ain't _dat_ fuckin' dumb. He knew he would get caught, right?"

"Don't you remember how he was acting after the motive announcement last night?" Satoshi said. "He was nervous, whatever he had against him was probably enough to cause him to think of murder. But like Kaito, I don't believe he really thought things through. Then again, maybe he had an idea of what he wanted to do with the body afterwords, but we'll never know now."

"Not exactly." Arata said as he pushed his glasses up towards his face. "Nagai's killer, and intended victim, could potentially know his plan. It's a bit of a stretch, but it's better than nothing."

"But is that really enough to say that he wanted to murder someone?" Shizuka asked, grasping her scarf and twisting it in her hands. "It's all speculation and nothing more."

All she needed was some convincing. The failed killing had to be the truth. "True, but I think I have some evidence to prove my theory." Takara said. "The state of a certain area in Hikaru's room."

"You're referring to the bathroom, aren't you?" Shigeru asked.

"Huh? What was in Hikuharu's bathroom?" Kumiko asked.

"Actually, the real question is what was _missing_ from his bathroom?" Takara said. "He was missing some towels, three of them to be specific. Four if you count his towel from the beach party. If you ask me, that seems like it would be quite the odd thing to be gone."

"How do missing towels tie into any of this?" Naomi asked through her teeth.

"We should think about this carefully." Masaru said. "Obviously Hikaru didn't use them for anything."

"Maybe the culprit needed to clean themselves off!" Minoru said, too much enthusiasm in his voice.

"What about where they went in the first place?" Shizuka asked. "The towels have to be somewhere in the resort still."

"We can talk about that later." Arata said. "The purpose is more important than the location."

"I think the culprit tried to use the towels to keep Hikaru's blood from getting all over the place when he transported him!" Ryouta said, a smirk on his face. It was so weird to see the florist smiling like that, or smiling at all for that matter. "The blood trail would lead right back to the crime scene after all."

"I agree with that statement!" Takara said.

"Wait, seriously?!" Ryouta asked, jumping backwards.

"Yes." Takara said. "Under Hikaru's body was a towel, the one he had during the pool party. The culprit must have left it there on accident, not realizing it was stuck under there when they tried grabbing the other towels."

"The killer musta taken allllll the towels, wrapped 'em around Hikuharu, and sealed him up in a big towel cocoon!" Kumiko said. "That way the baggage cart, trampoline, and food cart wouldn't get blood on 'em! Because slashed throats are reeeeeally bloody!"

"You seem to have a good idea of what they would be used for." Ayame said, raising her eyebrow in suspicion as her fingers tapped against the podium in succession.

"That's not the only thing I think it was used for though." Shigeru said. "There was something odd on the floor that shouldn't have been there if the culprit had planned this. A trail of blood leading into the bathroom."

"Howzat weird?" Kazumi asked. "Da throat slashin' got blood all over da place didn' it? A tiny trail of blood wouldn' be outta da ordinary."

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "The blood leading to the bathroom was only on the floor. That and the way the blood was spread means it should be impossible for any of it to have gone to the bathroom."

"How do you figure that out?" Ayame asked.

"Hikaru appears to have been killed on his own bed." Shigeru said. "The path to the bathroom and the bed are separated by a wall. And there's no other sign of blood in that path."

"So you're saying that the culprit was attacked with the razor?" Minoru asked.

"Exactly." Takara said.

"There was one more thing about the bathroom that was off." Shigeru said.

"What do you mean?" Masaru asked.

"Let me explain this in terms that all of you can understand." Shigeru said. "Considering that Hikaru was killed from a slit throat, blood should have gone everywhere, including onto the culprit. Yet none of us have a single drop on them. Whoever the culprit was, they had to have cleaned off the blood in some way. How do you think they did so?"

"They had to have washed themselves off right?" Shizuka suggested. "But how could they have done that?"

"The showers were off at the time, so that's out of the question." Arata said.

"The pool was also closed off, along with the hot springs." Satoshi said. "The showers over in the gym were off as well."

"There's no way they could have washed themselves then!" Kumiko said. "It's absolutely impooooosible!"

"Except Hikaru had a particular item that could wash the blood just fine." Shigeru said. "Mind telling these simpletons what it is, Takara?"

He didn't have to call them simpletons. But she definitely knew what the item was. "A water gun of course." Takara said. "He grabbed one at the pool party the other day."

"Oh yeah, I do remember 'im usin' one of dose things." Kazumi said. "But was it even filled with water?"

"If the puddle on the ground was anything to go by, then yes." Shigeru said.

"So if I'm understanding all of this, the culprit was called to Hikaru's room in order to be murdered." Masaru said. "They were attacked, but managed to fight back and got the upper hand. From there, they slit his throat and moved him to the freezer, all without me noticing."

"That's about right." Takara said.

"But how do we know who the killer was?" Naomi asked. "We're nowhere closer to that then when we started!"

"I still think it was Ryouta." Ayame said. "It's not far fetched to think that Hikaru tried to punch him and gave him that black eye. That and his room is right next door, he could have easily gone inside."

"I didn't get this black eye from that!" Ryouta insisted. "It happened when I tried to go to the convenience store. I saw someone walking by, but it was foggy so I couldn't see them. They punched me in the face and gave me this black eye, plus they knocked me out! You found me and started dragging me there, so you should know that it couldn't have been from your muscle-brained boyfriend!"

"We weren't dating! How many times do I have to say it?!" Ayame said with a red face. "We were friends! That's it! Friends!"

"Someone's in denial~" Kumiko said in a sing-song tone.

"I am not!" Ayame said.

"Are too!" Kumiko said.

"Am not!"

"Are tooooo!"

"Why are you arguing over this right now? This has nothing to do with the case!" Shigeru shouted. The room went silent, his heavy breathing the only sound to be heard. "...Let's move on, shall we?"

"Anyway, I'm starting to seriously doubt that Ryouta was the killer." Takara said. "Actually, I felt he was innocent from the beginning."

"How so?" Ayame asked. "The evidence is completely obvious!"

"First of all, if he was right next door to Hikaru, why would he bring his room key with him?" Takara said. "He would just need to go through the doors that connect the rooms. Secondly, I highly doubt Ryouta is strong enough to pick someone like Hikaru up. He's too skinny and has no muscles. No offense." Ryouta seemed to mutter something under his breath at that. "Finally, I doubt he'd just believe some random letter from any one of us saying they want to talk to him alone. Ryouta's overly paranoid, remember?"

"Hey, I have good reason not to trust you people!" The florist insisted.

"Also, I'm pretty sure he doesn't wear a t-shirt and boxers to bed." Satoshi said. "That doesn't seem like his style."

"What do pajamas have anything to do with this?" Naomi asked.

"I found a washing machine running over at the laundromat." Satoshi explained. "Inside of it were three towels, a t-shirt, and boxers. All of them had faded bloodstains on them, meaning that the culprit was washing their clothes off."

"Ohhhhh, dat's where da other towels were!" Kazumi said.

"Okay, so we know for certain that Ryouta is innocent." Minoru said. "But then who's the real culprit?"

"I think I know how we can figure it out." Takara said. "There are three people in here who are wearing bandages who weren't last night. Since the culprit was attacked and drew blood, I can't help but think that those bandages will reveal the truth. Masaru, Satoshi, Ayame, can you tell me why you're wearing those bandages?"

The patisserie spoke up first. "I got this when I was making breakfast this morning. I got a burn on my hand from accidentally getting too close to the stove fire. I needed to keep cooking though, and since it was my dominant hand I had to bandage it up. I had to go to the Health Center to patch it up though, since all the bandages in the first aid kit were gone."

"I scraped my knee coming out of the hot springs last night." Satoshi admitted, seemingly embarrassed about the situation. "Since I was nearby, I went to the Health Center to wrap it up."

"I got hurt while using the equipment in the gym before nighttime happened." Ayame said. "I knew if I didn't do anything it would turn into a nasty looking scab, so I grabbed some bandages from the Health Center too so I could stop the bleeding."

"Looks like you're wrong, Tsukuda." Arata said. "They all have claims that say otherwise."

"Wait, I don't think that's it at all." Shizuka said. "One of them might be lying! No one saw them go to these places right?"

"Also, if the culprit was hurt and in the kitchen, it's likely they took the bandages from the first aid kit before Masaru was hurt." Miyako said.

"That's just what I was thinking." Takara said with a smirk. "And thinking carefully about all of this, I think I know just which one of them is." She glanced around the room, starring down the guilty party and pointing a finger at them. "You should know after all, Ayame Ishikawa!"


	21. Chapter 2 - The Melancholy of Takara Tsukuda - Class Trial III

"Huh? You think I did it?" Ayame asked, unfazed by the accusation. "Come on, Hikaru was my best friend! What reason do you got for saying I killed him?"

"He was more than your best friend though, Aya!" Kumiko said, giggling.

"How about you shut up Kumiko, or else I'll kick you so hard you'll be in the Health Center for days!"

"That's just it though, you and Hikaru are best friends." Takara said. "That note said the person he called out was the only one he could trust, and that puts quite the target on you."

"So? Kaito said the same thing about Kumiko last time." Ayame said. "That doesn't mean I did it."

"There's also the leg wounds." Takara brought up. "I don't think anyone else has a strong enough leg strength to bruise him like you would. It would certainly be no problem for a Super High School Level Football Player."

"That's true! Plus she's probably the only one who could carry him!" Masaru said with a snap of his fingers.

"So you're saying that because I'm good at kicking shit, that means _I'm_ the one who did that to his legs? That's just crazy!" Ayame said, her anger beginning to show. "They could have easily used something like a baseball bat to deliver those wounds!"

"But there was no bat at the crime scene." Shigeru said. "I made a thorough search of the place myself and can confirm it wasn't there."

"Oh come on! This evidence is bullshit!" Ayame shouted. "I'm guilty because I got bandages on?! That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard!"

"Well if you claim you didn't do it, I'll give you the chance to prove it." Takara said. "Masaru, Satoshi, would you mind removing your bandages for a moment so I could see your wounds? If I'm correct, the wound we're looking for will be a long cut."

"If you say so." Masaru said. He began undoing the bandage that covered his left hand. It was a light red color, clearly indicating it was a low degree burn.

"I'm happy to help, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. He raised his leg up so it would be visible and began to remove his own bandages. A bunch of small little scabs were collected together in the same spot, he had definitely tripped on that leg.

"Well then Ayame, why don't you show us your arm, hm?" Takara asked. "If your story holds up, then you'll probably have a big scab. Let us see it and your innocence will be proven."

"I, um..." Ayame said.

"What's the matter, Ishikawa?" Arata asked. "Surely it's no problem to remove that bandage."

Ayame didn't speak, sweat dripping down her face.

"Oooooooo! She's gotten tongue-tied!" Kumiko said.

"Come on, Ayame! Show us your arm!" Takara shouted.

"I...I don't have to!" Ayame said.

"I see how you are. Perfectly fine with dumping your sin on someone else, but once it's tied back to you you deny it completely!" Ryouta said.

"I have to agree with him for once." Shigeru said. "You been cornered, it's checkmate, just give it up already."

"Like hell I'm gonna give up!" Ayame shouted. "I'm the motherfucking Super High School Level Football Player! I don't know the meaning of the phrase 'give up' because surrender is impossible!"

"I think we have enough information to wrap this case up, wouldn't you say?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Takara said.

"Yeah right!" Ayame shouted. "Why don't you put your money where your goddamn mouth is?!"

"Very well, I shall." Takara said. "Threatened by Monokuma's new motive, Hikaru didn't want anyone to find out about some aspect of his past. So he decided to murder someone. He figured that only one person would be willing to meet him in this time of stress, so he had to choose them. Using a note, he told them to come to his room at ten past six this morning. Beforehand, he prepared his razor to use as the weapon. He didn't think about how he would hide his crime, but that didn't matter to him. The person arrived, unaware of his plans. It wasn't long before he attacked them, leaving a wound on their arm. A scuffle broke out and it seemed they were cornered. With no other options, they kicked him multiple times, making him drop the weapon and leaving bruises on his legs.

"They took the weapon from him, and figuring they had Hikaru incapacitated they slit his throat. The resulting blood sprayed everywhere, including on the culprit. Once he was completely dead, the culprit tried to move the crime scene. First they collected most of his towels and wrapped them around his body to prevent blood spillage. They made a quick trip to the gym and grabbed a small trampoline. Otherwise the body could get blood on the floor. Next, they grabbed a baggage cart and wheeled it over to his room. They placed the body on the cart and rolled it over to the stairs where they dropped it down on the trampoline. They hid the body and trampoline under the stairs and moved on to the next stage of their plan.

"They returned to Hikaru's room, grabbing what they thought was their card key. But in actuality it was Hikaru's. They cleaned themselves off using the water gun in Hikaru's bathroom, and disposed the razor in the sink while they had the chance. Next, they went to the laundromat to dispose of their bloody clothes. But unknown to them, Ryouta was making his way towards the convenience store so he could avoid breakfast. Seeing their chance to create a scapegoat, they proceeded to punch Ryouta in the face and knock him out. They left him there and decided to come grab him later. They changed out of their pajamas and threw them into a washing machine, which they would come turn on later.

"The culprit returned to the hotel, noticing the restaurant was open. Remembering the wound on their arm, they went into the kitchen and grabbed the first aid kit's bandages. They also grabbed the food cart so they could move the body. But when they came back, Masaru was already in the kitchen. Though luck was on their side as Masaru burned his hand, and he had to go to the Health Center to grab bandages. While he was gone, the culprit stuffed Hikaru's body and the food cart into the freezer. They removed all but one of the towels and left before Masaru returned. Then they waited for nighttime to end so they could throw the towels into the laundry, and went to grab Ryouta so they could act like nothing was wrong. Doesn't that sum up everything rather nicely, Ayame Ishikawa?"

"Y...You..." Ayame stammered. "You motherfuckers!"

"So, ah, it looks like you've all come to your conclusion!" Monokuma announced. "Go ahead and cast your votes! Who will you choose as the culprit? Will it be the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?" As she did before, Takara threw the switch and made her selection. It was obvious who it was. The others made their own votes. The screens around them turned on to show the result, Ayame's face with the sound of cheering soon following. "Bingo! Our blackened this time around, and the murderer of Hikaru Nagai, is Ayame Ishikawa!" Monokuma said as he clapped his hands.

"Hikaru... tried to kill his best friend?" Shizuka said, unable to believe what she was hearing. "But why? Why would he ever do such a thing?"

"I don't know!" Ayame shouted, filled with anger. "He didn't say shit when he was trying to slice and stab me!"

"Usually people have the right to remain silent, but since Nagai's already dead there's no way for him to stop me from telling you all why he went down the road of despair!" Monokuma said. He pulled out a folded piece of paper with Hikaru's name on it, unfolded it, and cleared his throat before reading.

"Hikaru Nagai has cheated on every single girl he's ever dated and always got away with it."

"What da fuck?!" Kazumi shouted. "Who even does dat?!"

"I suddenly don't feel sorry for him now that he's dead." Naomi said, pushing up her glasses.

"But why would he do that?" Masaru asked.

"Ehhh, beats me! I don't know that much!" Monokuma said. "Maybe he enjoyed having more than one girl at his side or something. All I know is that it was enough to get him rolling into despair."

"I can see why he'd kill someone over that." Shizuka said. "I mean, he had lots of fangirls didn't he? If they knew that he cheated on girls they would lose all respect over him."

"That, and if something like that got out about someone in the sports world, it would ruin him for the rest of his life." Arata added. "It doesn't make his actions right, but it's understandable why he would try to kill someone over that."

"Hikaru was a cheater...?" Ayame asked. "GOD DAMMIT! I thought I made friends with a cool guy who wouldn't judge me for liking football and now I found out that he cheated on who knows how many girls?!"

"What do you mean by someone who wouldn't judge you?" Masaru asked.

"Do you know how hard it is to be the only girl on a football team?!" Ayame asked. "Because it sucks ass! All my teammates would ask me why I didn't act more like a girl! They'd ask why I didn't try to be more feminine! I'd be told shit like I'll never find a boyfriend if I keep acting like this! Sure, my teammates never doubted my skills as a player, but when they always asked me why I couldn't act like a girl in the slightest it pissed me off!"

"I had no idea people actually said those things to you." Satoshi said. "It just doesn't seem right."

"That's why I hung out with Hikaru so much, because he didn't give a shit about that! I thought he was different, that I could have a friend who didn't care!" Ayame said. "And then he tried to kill me, over his cheating past!"

"So in response, you disarmed him and decided to kill him instead." Shigeru said. "Even though you had the choice to run away."

"It was an accident!" Ayame insisted. "Yeah, I took the razor from him but I was just trying to intimidate him! I thought I could find out why he tried to kill me! But I must have been flailing the thing around so much that I killed him! It was too late to go back at that point, so I figured I might as well go all the way."

"How can we just believe you about that?" Ryouta asked. "You've lied a lot so far, who's to say you're not still lying?"

"Will ya shut da fuck up already?!" Kazumi yelled. "Or do ya want another black eye?!"

"Well whatever! It's not like it matters anymore!" Ayame said. "I killed Hikaru and I'm not afraid to admit it!"

"So you're not afraid to die then." Takara said.

"You say I'm going to die? Like hell I am! I'm not going down without a fight!" Ayame said. This was too much to handle, something in her snapped. Maybe the revelation of Hikaru's motive finally pushed her overboard. "I'd like to see that bear try to execute me that easily! I'm not spineless like Kaito was, so just try to kill me!"

"Aya's starting to scare me!" Kumiko said. "Why won't she stop shouting?"

"I gotta admit, it's getting on my nerves as well." Monokuma said. "So I think it's time to shut her up!"

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want, I'm fucking invincible! I'm undefeated! Your little execution doesn't scare me!" Ayame said.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Football Player!" Monokuma announced. "Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!"

"Screw all of you fuckers! I'll see you in hell!" Ayame shouted, giving everyone the finger.

**_Ayame Ishikawa has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!_ **

**Extreme Winning Goal**

Once again, the students were forced to watch another terrifying execution. They were gathered onto bleachers, safely placed behind a fence. On the other side was a football field with only one goal, though for some reason it was much larger than the average goal. Standing at that goal was a crazed looking Ayame, her hands bound by chains. Small robots dressed like football players appeared on the field. Monokuma, dressed like a referee, walked out and blew on a whistle. The game began.

The robots fired footballs at Ayame, but she was right when she said she wasn't going to give up easily as she managed to kick or bunt the balls away with ease. They came at her faster, but she continued to block them. She gave a smug grin, was this the best Monokuma could do? She could survive this easily. But her cockiness would get the best of her. More footballs began to come at her, coming in faster speeds and larger numbers. They began to become harder to block, and instead of blocking them she began to get pelted by the balls. She realized that they were also kicking harder. The balls were also increasing in size, eventually reaching to sizes no human could possibly kick away.

The barrage stopped, and while severely weakened and beaten, Ayame was still alive. She thought she made it, that Monokuma failed to kill her. But then one last robot, larger than all the others, appeared. A ball larger than the football player was waiting to be kicked, and the robot positioned itself to make a score. Ayame found herself frozen in fear, she couldn't move her legs no matter how much she wanted to. The robot kicked the ball, aiming it directly at Ayame. The ball slammed into her and sent her through the net, hitting the wall behind the goal. The ball slowly rolled away from the wall, revealing the crushed body of Ayame stuck to it. The ball came to a stop, squishing her body underneath it.

If hitting the wall hadn't killed her, there was no doubt that she was dead now.

No one could decide if this execution was worst than the first one. This whole situation was sick and cruel. No one deserved to die this way, even if they killed someone else. It was all too much. It felt like a lifetime before Monokuma spoke up.

"And so falls the curtain on Ishikawa's story!" he said, dancing in place. "So despairing and tragic, it's beautiful don't you think?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ryouta shouted.

"How could anyone take such joy from someone else's pain and suffering?" Kumiko asked, her whole body shaking.

"It's a classic case of schadenfreude, pleasure derived from the misfortune of others." Naomi said. "Though I have a bloody good feeling that this goes beyond that."

"Call it whatever you want, it doesn't change a thing!" Monokuma said.

"True, all that matters to you is that we take part in your little game." Shigeru said. "So long as we are affected by his motives and kill, we're doing exactly what he wants."

"You could say that you're my own little actors!" Monokuma said.

"I... I can't stay here, I need to leave this room right now..." Shizuka said, looking pale and sick.

"Do whatever you want, it doesn't concern me! The trial is over after all." Monokuma said. "To be honest, I'm tired of looking at all of you anyway."

No one needed to tell them twice, the twelve of them immediately headed for the exit, hoping to get away from Monokuma and recover from the execution they had just seen. They couldn't get back to their rooms sooner. The trip back passed by like a blur for Takara. In no time at all she had found herself standing in front of her door and swiping the key. No one bothered to say anything to each other, they all went straight for their own rooms. All Takara wanted at that point was a well deserved sleep. But she just couldn't get it.

Sitting on top of her bed was a tattered book, it had to have been at least a year old by the look of it. She didn't remember leaving this on her bed, or even owning such a book. So what was it doing here? Curious, she picked up the book and began to look through it. The first half was practically inelligible, the pages were ripped, frayed, and even had something spilled on them. It was when she got to the middle of the book that she could finally read something, but she couldn't believe what it was saying.

_My name is Takara Tsukuda, once known as the Super High School Level Journalist. Considering what's happening, I don't think that title has merit anymore. I am writing in this journal to keep a record of not only myself, but of my fellow classmates. We've managed to avoid one disaster, but I don't think we're going to make it through this. As far as we know, we the 79th class, are the only living students from Hope's Peak Academy._

Last living students? The 79th class? What was going on here?! And this was her handwriting! But she didn't remember writing such a thing! She closed the book, there was no way she could look at this in her current state. But staring at the cover, she had a feeling like she had seen this before. Without even realizing what she was doing, she grabbed her journal off the nightstand and prepared herself to write down in it. She froze though, and looked at the strange book and her journal side by side.

They were the same.

\----------------------------------

"Ahhhh, another class trial well done!" Monokuma said, relaxing in his suite. "These kids are so easy to manipulate! I wonder what I'll present them with next? The possibilities are endless and I have so many ideas! Upupupupu!"

The door to the room opened, shocking the monochrome bear. No one but him was supposed to get in this room! Who could have the ability to come up to the top floor and enter his suite?! The person walked in, and looked right at Monokuma. "I thought I'd find you here." they said. "It's about time you and I had a little talk."

"Eh?! It's you? But how did someone like you get in here?" Monokuma asked.

"I know the elevator isn't really broken." they said. "And I don't think you need to know how I entered your room."

"Well I think I _do_ need to know! Just who gave you the right to waltz in here when you please? I could have been indecent!" Monokuma said.

"Stop trying to dodge the issue. You know why I'm here."

"Oh? Do I?" Monokuma asked.

"The others may not realize it, but I'm completely aware of what's going on here. All I want to know is how."

"There's a lot of ways one can answer that question, you need to be more specific." Monokuma said.

"The 17th and 18th students, what happened to that information?"

"Ah yes, that." Monokuma said. "Sorry, can't tell ya! That would spoil all the fun! However, I think an arrangement could be made here."

"...An arrangement?"

"Exactly!" Monokuma said. "You and I just have to make a bit of a compromise, that's all."

\--------------------------------------

"I can't believe it's come to this. To think we have to send them in there."

"Well it's not like we got a choice anymore. Whatever's happening in there is too serious at this point. There's already been three casualties, you know?"

"Four casualties, you idiot. The trial just finished, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right."

"I don't understand though. We made precautions to keep this from happening again. That's why we sent that first one in with the others."

"Well obviously it wasn't good enough, was it? They've been thrown into a killing game and there's nothing we can do at this point to interfere."

"Ah cheer up, I'm sure that putting them in will help things. They're the best person we got. If anyone can figure out what's happening, it'll be them."

"But what if they get caught? Whoever's controlling Monokuma is bound to spot them sooner or later."

"You gotta have more faith in them! After all, we sent them in during the trial for a reason. All we can do now is wait and see what happens."

"Still though, we shouldn't take Monokuma's controller lightly. They managed to block us off from the resort, remember? It's a miracle we managed to get them in just now."

"I know, I know."

"Let's just hope this mess can be settled out in time. Before another dangerous motive is revealed..."

**12 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, the mysteries have grown. Anyway, first thing's first, There won't be many updates next week, if there are any at all. The fic is taking a little break is all. If I upload anything next week, it's only one chapter. Secondly, I'm opening up free time suggestions right now. The only people you can't pick this time around are Shigeru and Naomi, so everyone else is available to pick. I'll be back with the beginning of Chapter 3 later on!


	22. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Daily Life I

_I should probably start at the beginning, I fear I'm getting ahead of myself. All of this, or at least the situation we've found ourselves in, started ******* ago. The school grounds were placed under lockdown due to the ***** caused by ********** Despair ********** of Mankind. We were allowed to roam the grounds and attend classes, but we weren't allowed to leave. Contact with the outside was limited. We thought everything would be fine, the ***** were contained, but then it happened. Students were turning up dead._

_It started with *******, Super High School Level *******, and most of the students hoped it would be a one time thing. But more and more were winding up dead. My own class was starting to get worried, what if we were next? Though I couldn't blame them, some of them were receiving anonymous threats. Kumiko was getting threats so severe that she had to stay close to the stronger students for protection. It eventually came to the point where one of our classmates, ******************** went missing. There was no doubt that Super High School Level ******** was coming for us, so we made a plan to flee the school before it was too late._

_It was only thanks to ************************** that we escaped. And we made the right choice. The next day, everything erupted into chaos. The school was attacked. As far as we know, there are no survivors left at the school. ************ left to go check, but that was ***** days ago. **** told us that **** could use **** skills as an ******** to keep **** safe, but we're starting to doubt ****'s going to return. Some of us are hoping that our friends at the school made it out safely, but we have no way of knowing. So now we're here in hiding, just the sixteen of us, trying to stay out of **************'s sights. We have no idea what's happening outside, we found a TV but it doesn't work no matter what we do. All we can do for now is wait for-_

"Good morning everyone!" Monokuma's voice alerted Takara to the end of Nighttime. She had lost track of time reading the strange journal, unable to fall asleep last night. Just what was this thing? Why did it look like an older version of her own journal? And just what was written in here? She had no idea what this was talking about. What happened to Hope's Peak Academy? And what of the other students? And then there was the unreadable sections. Were they like that on purpose or...

She didn't have time to worry about it. Maybe it was just some sick joke of Monokuma's. This had to be a fake. If she didn't remember writing it, then it couldn't be hers. And if it wasn't, then she'd find a way to get to the bottom of things. She put it away in a drawer and left to join the others for breakfast.

The restaurant seemed bigger when she entered, but that was only due to the now empty chairs that sat there. It was still surprising that Hikaru and Ayame were gone. Just when they had all began to recover from the first set of deaths, this had to happen. By the looks on the others faces, Takara wasn't been the only one who hadn't slept well that night. Some looked like they didn't even get a minute of sleep. What could have caused so many of them to be in this state? The only one who seemed to have an abundance of energy was Kumiko, who was carrying a tray of mugs and giving them out to the others. "Morning, Karins!" she said, waving over at the tired journalist. "Don't tell me, you had trouble sleeping too?"

"Yeah, couldn't sleep a wink." Takara said, taking a seat next to Satoshi and Arata. "I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get myself to fall back." She didn't want to mention the journal to Kumiko, not until she knew just what it was.

"You and eeeeeeveryone else!" Kumiko said, handing her a steaming mug. "Me and Marscapone are the only ones here who seem to have energy to spare! But never fear, Kumiko's Super Coffee is here! I made some for everyone so they can wake up!"

So that's what she was giving. "So how come you're not tired like the rest of us?" Takara asked.

"Oh, I've had nights where I couldn't get to sleep at all!" Kumiko said, setting a mug in front of Arata. "But I don't feel tired the next morning for some reason! As it just so happens, this was one of those nights!"

"How is something like that possible?" Arata asked.

"I dunno! It just is!" Kumiko said. "So what kept you up, Karins? Nightmares? Or you don't know?"

"I, err, don't know." Takara said, trying to lie. She was never good at it no matter how hard she tried. Hopefully she could convince Kumiko though.

"Ooooooooh. I see." Kumiko said. "Well if ya don't know, you don't know! I'll talk to you later! I got some coffee to deliver!" With that, the comic artist dashed to the next table with the coffee in tow. Good, she believed it. Takara suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Shizuka at the table behind her. The painter leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"You found something strange in your room didn't you?" she asked. How did she figure that out?! "It's okay, you're not the only one. We should talk about it in private though, somewhere with no cameras."

"Why no cameras?" Takara asked.

"Just a precaution, that's all." Shizuka explained. "And make sure to bring it with you."

"Oy, watcha whisperin' 'bout?" Kazumi asked.

"Oh, well, me and Takara were thinking about taking a dip at the hot springs tomorrow morning after breakfast!" Shizuka said.

"Ohhhh, I gotcha." Kazumi said, seemingly understanding the situation. "Then in that case, I'm comin' too. Ya know, the more the merrier!"

"Then it's settled." Shizuka said. "Tomorrow morning, we'll be spending some quality girl time together at the hot springs." She leaned back towards Takara. "She knows too, don't worry. I'll see if any of the other girls can come as well. Well, minus Naomi that is."

"Huh? Why not Naomi?" Takara asked.

Before Shizuka had the time to answer, the sound of shattering broke through the room. Everyone turned their heads to the source of the sound, seeing a broken mug lying on the floor and what looked like a stain of coffee on the wall. Kumiko was ducking, holding the empty tray over her head in protection. "Naomi, what the heck was that all about?" Minoru asked.

Naomi, who was lacking the braid in her hair and letting it hang freely, was scowling in a manner that felt unnatural. "This coffee tastes like cat piss!" she yelled. What was agitating her so much? It couldn't have just been the coffee.

"That doesn't mean you have to throw it at Kumiko." Minoru said, trying to act calm.

"Bugger off!" Naomi said, raising her middle finger.

"That's why." Shizuka whispered.

The remainder of breakfast was quiet. After that outburst, no one wanted to speak up. Only one conversation came up at the end of the meal. "So a new area should be open now, right?" Satoshi asked. "That means we're going to explore it I assume."

"Correct." Shigeru answered. "Just as before, we'll return here and go over our findings. Perhaps we'll find something worthwhile this time around."

"Well, since we're already done eating, why don't we get started and look around?" Masaru asked. "I can take care of all the dishes here. Besides, the less time we waste, the better."

"Do whatever you want, it doesn't concern me." Shigeru said. He stood up from his chair and made his way out, Naomi following behind him.

"Am I the only one who thinks he has something to do with Naomi's behavior?" Ryouta, who was now wearing a pair of glasses, asked.

"No, I totally know he did!" Kumiko said. "Nyaomi was nice before she started hanging out with Gerugu."

With nothing more to say, everyone left the room and went to explore. Takara found herself alone once again. Remembering an area had opened up in the hotel last time, she looked around the lobby for somewhere she could go. Across from the restaurant was a door labeled "Lounge". This seemed like a good place to start. She opened the door and entered the lounge.

The first thing that caught her attention was the large flat screen TV at the end of the room. IT was bigger than any of the ones in the hotel rooms, that much was obvious. Hooked up to it were a number of video game consoles old and new. Some of them she couldn't even recognize. On the side was a large shelf filled with various games. In front of the TV was a large couch and some beanbag chairs, though the latter seemed to be scattered throughout the room. Up against the edge of another wall was a long table with computers. Each of them was new. There was another door in the room that was slightly open. Finally, there was a square table with a number of chairs scattered around it.

Satoshi came out of the open door, brushing off dust that managed to get on him. He smiled upon noticing Takara had entered. "Hi, Kara-chan!" he said.

At this point, she figured it was impossible to tell him to stop using that name. "Hey, Satoshi." she said. "What's in there?"

"Games. For the table I mean." Satoshi explained. "Card games, board games, table-top games, all of them. But they haven't been touched all too recently. Guess the video games are to blame for that."

"Maybe." Takara said. "Do those computers work? If they can, maybe we can connect to the internet or something."

"Nope, you can't do that I'm afraid!" Monokuma said. The bear had settled himself in one of the beanbag chairs. "The internet service here in Paradise Resort has been knocked out, so there's not much you can do with these computers."

"Why am I not surprised?" Satoshi said.

"That TV is in tip-top shape though! As are all the game systems!" Monokuma said. "So you can still relax and enjoy yourself here if you wish!"

"With you around, I can't relax." Takara said.

"Ack! There's a chill in here!" Monokuma said. "It's so chilly that I can't help but shiver!" Almost as soon as he appeared, he was gone.

"Still, this is a pretty odd lounge." Satoshi said. "I was expecting to find a bar or something in here."

"Yeah, what kind of lounge has stuff like this in it? Takara asked. "Though considering the things we've found here so far, it's not all that strange."

"True. We've found weirder things in here." Satoshi said. "Who knows, there might be more oddities to discover."

"Only one way to find out, I guess." Takara said. Her business finished, she left the lounge. There probably wasn't anything else of interest in the hotel, so she made her way outside. She looked at the two remaining paths, choosing the one that went slightly left. Once again, she chose the right path. The dirt path turned into stone as she entered the new area. As with the Health District, she entered in a large clearing filled with huge buildings. She entered the first building she saw, which happened to be the smallest.

Inside was what looked like a strange restaurant of some kind. At the back of the room was a stage, and there was a bar on the side. There were multiple doors, each one leading to a private room with a couch, TV, and table. This was nothing like the restaurant at the hotel.

"Fuck yeah! We got a motherfuckin' karaoke bar in dis shit!" Kazumi shouted into a microphone on the stage. "Now that's what I like ta see!"

"I'm not sure, this seems kinda strange for a karaoke bar." Takara said.

"Nah, it's jus' got two options is all!" Kazumi said, walking away from the mic. "Ya got da standard booths for privacy, and then dere's the open stage if ya wanna do it western stlye! Best of both worlds, ya know?"

"I guess?" Takara said. "I've never really done karaoke with anyone before so..."

"Well with me arond here, dat ain't gonna last long!" Kazumi said with a smile. "I'm gonna make sure ya take da mic an' sing!"

"Guess I have something to look forward to then..." Takara said, making her way to the exit. Being around Kazumi alone made her a bit nervous. The vocalist was intimidating to say the least. Exiting the karaoke bar, she made her way towards another small building.

She was greeted with plenty of sounds and lights, seeing tons of small machines standing around. There was little lighting, most likely to allow the machines to stand out. Walking around to the back of the building, she found a desk filled with a number of prizes. There was no doubt about it, this was an arcade. Well, Kumiko would certainly be happy with this place.

"OHMYGOSH!!!!!" Kumiko shouted as she jumped up and down, letting out a high pitched squeal. Speak of the devil. "This is the bestest arcade I've ever ever ever seen!!!!!! They have tons of old video games along with the new ones! They even have a pinball machine! Can you believe it?!" she said, unable to contain her excitement.

"You should probably settle down." Miyako, who seemed to appear out of nowhere once again, said as she tried to place her hands on Kumiko's shoulders.

"But how could I possibly settle down when we have a place as super duper awesome amazing as this?!" Kumiko said. "I mean, this is like the perfect place for me, Mimiya! I was destined to find this temple of treasures!!!!"

"Actually I have to agree, you should try to calm down a little." Takara said. "You're more hyperactive than usual."

"I am???" Kumiko said. "Sooooooory! I just get really excited when I see arcades like this! I mean they freaking have games from the 80's! That's like, when gaming was born! How could I not be excited?!"

"Considering I'm not a gamer, I don't know." Takara said. She looked over at Miyako, who was wearing a neutral expression on her face as always. "Are you a gamer too or something?" she asked.

"No, I just wanted to look around." Miyako replied. "There was nothing of interest on the fourth floor of the hotel so I came here."

"So the fourth floor is open now." Takara said. "But what's the point of opening these floors to us if there's nothing for us to find?"

"I don't know." Miyako said. "Maybe it's to make us feel like we've gained something." Was that it? Could a reason like that be true? If so, it was a lousy reason. It just continued to raise questions for the journalist.

"Well it better not be." Takara said. "Still though, the fact that you'd come here is strange."

"I have my reasons, same as you do." Miyako replied, sticking her hands in her pocket. "You wouldn't understand them if I told you though."

"Try me." Takara said.

"...You should probably look around the rest of the area." Miyako said, clearly dodging the question. She quickly walked out the door before Takara could press any further. That girl continued to get more and more mysterious the more she spoke.

With no further purpose in the arcade, Takara left and headed for the next building. The remaining areas were almost as huge as the library, maybe even bigger. Walking through the large doors, she now found herself in a museum. From what she could see in the main area, the exhibits on the right were filled with paintings while the left exhibits had historical objects. There was also a small store near the entrance, likely a gift shop of sorts, where she could see Shizuka and Arata leaving.

"Takara, you won't believe it! This museum is filled with art supplies! High quality ones too!" Shizuka said. "The paint I found in there is simply divine! It's just what I needed! Now I can finally do some painting again!"

"What was stopping you before?" Takara asked.

"To be honest, I hadn't thought of bringing many of my supplies with me. Though to be fair, I thought we were gonna be at the school itself." Shizuka explained. "So I haven't had any paint to work with. But now I can finally release my soul onto the canvas once again!"

"Matsuki's right, there are a number of supplies in there that would likely cost a hefty sum of yen." Arata said. "Though that's not all this place has to it. It's an art and history museum, and the quality of the objects is off the scale. There are works of Matsuki's and Teruya's in here."

"Seriously? It's that good?" Takara asked, unable to believe it.

"But something about that confuses me." Shizuka said, messing with her scarf. "Some of those paintings seem like they're my own work, but I don't remember painting them. And the ones I do are ones I don't remember selling to a place like this. So I'm wondering how they came here in the first place."

"That does seem rather strange." Takara said. "Maybe the bear knows."

"Or perhaps he's the one who brought them here." Arata said. "He did say he had the ability to destroy that which was created by our talents, so to find them here is probably no coincidence."

"I guess that makes sense." Shizuka said. "But then there's the ones I don't remember making. Where could they have come from?"

"I'd say they're imitations. Cheep copies someone tried to sell under the guise that they were made by you." Arata guessed.

"I'm not sure about that..." Shizuka said.

Takara couldn't believe that either. Shizuka was a Super High School Level Painter after all, to convincingly immitate her style would require incredible ammounts of skill. Monokuma had to know what the deal was about them. "Whatever the case may be, I'm sure we'll figure it out in time." she said.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Takara." Shizuka said with a smile. "Especially with your help!"

"I suppose her skills can be useful for something other than the investigations then." Arata said. Was that supposed to be a compliment or something? Unsure of what to say about that, Takara decided to continue her survey of the area.

Making her way to the next building, she stopped and noticed a carousel in the middle of the clearing. What was something like this doing here? And why were Masaru and Minoru riding it? She didn't bother to ask them. She would have to wait for the ride to stop, and she had no idea how much longer that would be. Besides, she could always ask them later. She continued into the next building, which seemed to be a theater of sorts.

Her suspicions were confirmed upon entering, as she found herself in a theater lobby. Shigeru and Naomi were examining the area. Strangely, Takara could only find one door that led to a theater space. "So is this a stage theater?" she asked herself.

"Oh, it's not just that!" Monokuma appeared and answered. "This is a multi-purpose theater, made to fit multiple needs!"

"A multi-purpose theater?" Shigeru asked, walking over to Monokuma and Takara. "Just what is that supposed to be?"

"What I mean is that this is three places in one!" Monokuma explained. "Sure, you got your standard theater set-up for plays and stage performances, but it can also be a concert hall or a movie theater!"

"How the bloody hell can it be a cinema too?" Naomi, who was still as sour as she was at breakfast, asked.

"With just a simple push of a button, a movie screen will fall down the stage!" Monokuma explained.

"And just where is this button?" Takara asked.

"Sorry, can't tell you that!" Monokuma said. Yeah right, like he was sorry about that. "If I tell you where that is, you'll end up playing with the controls and break them! Can't let that happen, you're supposed to be representing the school after all."

"So what are we supposed to do if we want to watch a movie?" Shigeru asked.

"Just give me a holler and I'll lower the screen for ya!" Monokuma said. "However, there's only one movie. And I'm not so sure you kids will wanna watch it!"

"We'll see about that." Shigeru said with a smug air to his voice. How could he be acting so pompous at a time like this?

"Okay, but don't blame me if you get emotionally scarred!" Monokuma said with a laugh before disappearing.

"A movie that could emotionally scar us?" Takara said. "I don't think I like the sound of it."

"It's probably just a bluff meant to scare us." Shigeru said. "I doubt that this movie is as terrifying as he claims."

"Besides, what the bollocks kind of movie would he even have that could do something like that? I don't believe 'im for a second!" Naomi said.

"Even if it is fake, we should probably avoid watching it." Takara said. "I have this feeling that even if it isn't as bad as he claimed, that Monokuma has some kind of trap in store concerning it."

"And just who asked you?" Naomi rudely asked.

"She may have a point there, actually." Shigeru said. "It may even have something to do with the next motive."

"Then in that case, I hope someone does watch it." Naomi said. "If it means we get more interesting places, then I wouldn't mind going through another trial or two!"

"How can you say that?" Takara asked. "This isn't like you, Naomi. What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened!" Naomi said. "I just finally decided to stop acting like something I'm not!"

So then this was the real Naomi? But how could that be? How could she be a rude and rotten person on the inside? "Whatever, I don't control how you act anyway." Takara said, making her way out. She wanted to be far away from Naomi. She couldn't believe that this was how she really was. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she walked into the last building until she heard the sounds.

She looked around and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Apparently she had just walked into a casino. It had everything one would expect to find, slot machines, roulette tables, even video poker. Why would they have access to a place like this? They were all too young to gamble! She saw Ryouta examining one of the slot machines, maybe he could answer her questions. "Ryouta, why are you looking over a slot machine?" she asked.

Ryouta jumped up in shock, unaware that the journalist had even entered. Upon seeing who it was, he slightly relaxed. "Oh, it's just you." he said as he adjusted his glasses. "I was trying to figure out if these things were really broken. That bear was here a minute ago and told me that these slot machines won't give out anything if you win."

"If it's broken, why let us come here?" Takara asked.

"It's not like I know!" Ryouta said. "All he told me is that we can play the games here, but we don't get anything for it."

"If you can't even win, why bother playing though?" Takara asked. At least that way none of them would develop a gambling addiction.

"I don't know, I never saw the point in gambling." Ryouta said.

"Say, why are you wearing glasses all of a sudden? You weren't wearing them before." Takara said.

"That's because I wore contacts." Ryouta explained. "That is until _somebody_ punched me in the face," He pointed at his still swollen eye. "And broke my contact! I don't have any replacements, so I had to go back to wearing glasses. As if my situation wasn't shitty enough already!"

"Oh, I see then." Takara said. "They don't look bad on you though."

"Shut up! You're lying through your teeth!" Ryouta nervously said. "You're just trying to make me lower my guard so you can stab me in the back later! I know it!"

"You know, I thought that after what happened yesterday you'd be willing to trust us more." Takara said. "But I guess you're still as much of an ass as ever."

"Why would I be willing to trust you?!" Ryouta asked.

"I don't know, maybe because we saved your ass from being falsely blamed as the culprit?" Takara asked irritatingly.

Ryouta didn't say anything, he just stared at his shoes. "Thanks for that, I guess." he said. "But even if I wanted to trust you, it's not like I can."

"Huh? Why's that?" Takara asked.

"You wouldn't get it." Ryouta said, walking away from her with a cloud hanging over him. What did he mean by that?

There didn't seem to be anything left in the area, so Takara decided to head back to the hotel. On her way back, she heard a familiar voice over the speakers. "Attention, all Hope's Peak Academy students!" Monokuma said. "Please report to the front desk immediately!" Great, what did he want now? Guess the discovery report would have to wait. Begrudgingly, she made her way to the lobby where everyone else was waiting.

"What could he want this time?" Satoshi asked.

"I have no idea, but it better be fuckin' good!" Kazumi said. "I ain't gonna take any of his usual bullshit."

"Well I'll have you know that I don't have any bullshit, Katsuya!" Everyone turned towards the desk where their self-proclaimed headmaster was sitting. "In fact, what I have to tell you is extremely important!"

"And just what exactly is so important that you needed to call us all here?" Shigeru asked.

"Tell me, have any of you been getting this feeling as if there's something you can't remember?" Monokuma asked. "Or perhaps come across something you didn't understand or don't recall?"

Everyone went silent. Something they didn't understand... Did he mean the weird journal? Was that his doing after all? Takara didn't dare bring it up, if he truly didn't know about it then it was better to keep quiet. After a moment of silence, someone spoke up. "I have been feeling like there's something I need to remember." Shizuka said. "But I can't figure out what it is."

"Actually, so do I." Masaru said. "I've been getting the same sensation."

A few others mentioned that they too felt as if there was something they had forgotten, or found something that didn't make sense to them. But Takara remained silent. Monokuma let out a satisfied laugh. "Well I can tell you why that is!" he said.

"Ooooooooh? What is it? What is it?" Kumiko asked as she swayed her arms. "How come we're not remembering stuff?"

"Calm down, Akamine. I'm gettin' to it!" Monokuma said. "First of all, you should know that the lot of you have already attended Hope's Peak Academy!" Wait, what did he just say?!

"I'm sorry, what was that?!" Naomi asked. "Because it sounded like you said we've already been to Hope's Peak!"

"But that's impossible!" Minoru said. "We all passed out at the front gate and found ourselves here!"

"Not exactly!" Monokuma said. "Believe me, you all went to Hope's Peak Academy. It was over a whole year ago that you started!"

"No fuckin' way! How could we have more than a year's worth of memories dat don' exist?!" Kazumi asked.

"Well, the reason you don't remember anything about that is because you've all had your memories taken away from you!" Monokuma said.

"He's lying right?" Ryouta asked. "I mean, there's no way someone could remove a year from our memory!"

"Oh but it's true! All the time you spent at Hope's Peak has been stolen from you!" Monokuma said. "And to top it all off, you all agreed to have those memories taken away!"

"I don't believe a word of that!" Shigeru said. "We consented to memory loss? That's impossible!"

"Hold on, why are you telling us about all this?" Arata asked. "Surely you didn't just tell us for the hell of it."

"You're a smart cookie, Miyazaki! You're right, I'm not just telling you because I can." Monokuma explained. "No, I told you this because I'm willing to give you those memories back! Every single one of them!"

"All of our memories you say?" Miyako asked. It might have been her imagination, but Takara could have sworn there was a hint of intreuge in her voice.

"What do we have to do to get 'em back?" Satoshi nervously asked.

"Oh not much, it's simple really!" Monokuma said. "All you have to do is successfully graduate! If you can do that, then I'll let you leave this resort with all of your lost memories intact!"

"So this is just a motive." Minoru stated.

"Yep, that's correct!" Monokuma said.

"But why tell us about this now?" Takara asked. "Wouldn't this be the kind of thing you'd reveal at the beginning or the end?"

"I like to kick things up a bit!" Monokuma said. "Plus it feels like the tension between you kids is sky high! I thought that revealing such a shocking twist right here at the midway point would be sure to land some interesting results. One of you must be curious about your lost memories, right? And those of you who just have that itching feeling at the back of your head will be bound to want them even more!"

"You son of a bitch!" Kazumi exclaimed.

"So what'll it be, I wonder?" Monokuma asked no one in particular. "Who's gonna be the one who wants to remember their school years? Upupu, this is gonna be exciting!" He dropped down behind the desk and vanished, leaving a very confused bunch of teenagers.

"All our memories of Hope's Peak are gone?" Takara said. "But why? And what made us agree to taking them away?"

"This has to be a trap." Arata said. "He's only saying this to get us confused and angry. There's no way we've been to Hope's Peak Academy yet."

"I dunno, he wasn' bluffin' 'bout it." Kazumi said.

"If we chose to forget all that time, then something must have happened that made us want to forget. Don't you think?" Shizuka said, looking down at her boots.

"Well if that's the case, then why would we want those memories back?" Ryouta asked.

"Maybe he thought we wouldn't work that out." Masaru guessed.

"But why did he give us a motive now?" Kumiko asked. "So far he's always waited for four days before giving us one, so what made Teddie do it right after a trial?"

"He must be tired of waiting for us to murder on our own." Shigeru said. "He figures that by releasing the motive earlier, that will mean a death will happen earlier too."

"Well, if what Shizuka said about something in our past being traumatic enough for us to forget it is true, then we have no reason to murder, right?" Satoshi said.

"Yeah! Why'd we wanna get back crappy memories?" Kazumi asked.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Naomi sneered.

"But we're not cats." Miyako said.

"Besides, so long as we don't get curious about it, we won't wanna kill anyone!" Kumiko said as she jumped for joy. "Teddie's plan failed!"

"Now that we have that out of the way, we should go to the restaurant and go over what we found." Shigeru said.

"For once, I agree wit'cha." Kazumi said. "Les' jus' forget 'bout dat bear an' talk 'bout da new area!"

Everyone seemed to agree and made their way to the restaurant. But even with the idea that those memories weren't worth trying to murder over, Takara couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this motive than meets the eye. Monokuma had to be planning something, why else would he choose this particular motive after all?

No one had found a way out in the new areas, leaving Shigeru and Naomi disappointed and angry. They didn't care if there were entertaining places they could go to. The stress was probably getting to them by this point. Monokuma quickly announced the beginning of nighttime, sending everyone back to their rooms. Takara didn't try to go to sleep right away, the new motive made her more suspicious of that journal. If what Monokuma said was true, she had written in this during their missing time. And from the looks of it, it truly did mean something happened. She opened up to a page she hadn't read yet, hoping to find more clues about this missing time.

_******** is still missing. Some have already given up hope that **** come back. But it seems there are more pressing matters. The TV started working on it's own. At first we thought this was a good thing, we could find out what was going on in the outside world. But we were wrong, so wrong. Every channel just shows the same horrific program. It turns out that we're not the only Hope's Peak students who survived, but if this show is to be believed, that won't last for long._

_The worst part is that we know these students, these people are our *****classmen. But for some reason they don't ************************ which means they probably don't ********** us. Most of us are worried about all this. Many of us were friends with them, or at least close enough to hold conversations with them on a daily basis. And now they're forced into this ************* that's being broadcast to the world. Could this be the work of Super High School **************? If so, then it's even better that we escaped. But I still worry about them. It might not be long before something happens._

_Whoever's in charge of this "School ********* Mutual Killing" is bound to know how to break them. And we can only hope that our friends there make it through this._

**12 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to hurt for me to write, I just know it.


	23. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Daily Life II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of focus on Shizuka in this part and I swear it's an accident. I just wanted to get the discussion about the strange objects out of the way, and then someone voted to have another free time event with her. So I decided to take care of it all in one part and be done with it. The next part will not be so Shizuka focused, or at least won't have too much of her in it.

Takara walked into the restaurant feeling slightly tired, having stayed up late last night reading the journal. She had to stop herself in order to get some rest. But she had managed to learn something from all of it. She and her classmates were not the first people thrown into this mutual killing situation, another group of Hope's Peak students were subjected to it as well. And theirs was broadcast on television. She shuddered at the thought that the one they were in was being broadcast too. But all mention of names were redacted, aside from bits and pieces, so she had no idea who these students were. Even their talents were hidden. All she knew was that two murders had occurred. One person was stabbed in the shower of someone else's room, and the other was hit with a dumbbell in a momentary loss of control. There was also one other who was subjected to a punishment for breaking the rules, she didn't even want to think about their demise.

The worst part is that they had known those students, were friends with some of them even, and they had to watch them kill each other. Some had taken it harder than others. There were probably more murders after the point she had read, so who knows how much harder it was for everyone? The only other things in the journal had been accounts of herself and her classmates. Whatever had happened caused changes in them, some were good but most of them were for the worst. Ryouta for example had become trusting towards the rest of them, but his paranoia towards everything else increased. Shigeru, believe it or not, was supposedly acting nice (it seemed to surprise her when she had written that). With how much of the journal remained, she feared that there were worse things to come for them.

One thing that puzzled her more than anything else was one redacted name that continued to appear. There were constant mentions of how someone had left and hadn't returned. She thought it was one of her fifteen classmates, but all their names appeared at one point or another. Stranger still, this person had been a part of their class. But that was impossible. She only remembered there being sixteen of them. There shouldn't be more than that. Right?

Removing herself from her thoughts, Takara looked around and noticed that two more people were missing from the restaurant. Shigeru and Naomi were nowhere in sight. No, it couldn't have happened already, right? "Where's Shigeru and Naomi?" she asked.

"They're not eatin' with us." Kazumi said.

"Shigeru came in this morning and picked up two meals, one for him and one for Naomi." Masaru explained. "He said that he was tired of dealing with our incompetence, so the two of them were going to work by themselves to find a way out."

"It doesn't feel right though, for there to be two more empty seats." Shizuka said with her head held low. "It just feels like more of us are missing now."

"If they want to be alone, then why should we care?" Ryouta asked. "Those two have been suspicious since day one! With them gone, I actually feel more at ease!"

"At least we won't have to worry about Naomi's outbursts anymore though." Satoshi said, trying to look on the bright side of things.

Takara couldn't help but agree with the painter's statement. With two people refusing to come, it just felt like they had gone through another trial. Even if she didn't like Shigeru, she didn't want him to start isolating away from everyone else. They were supposed to be working together, not straying apart. What was his actions supposed to accomplish?

Breakfast ended quickly, the silence between them helping on that front, leaving Takara to make her way towards the hot springs. She already had the strange journal, along with her regular journal in case it was important, in her bag so she could save a trip. She took the far left path and made her way up to the health district. She waited outside of the building for the others to arrive, they probably needed to grab what they needed. A few minutes passed before Shizuka and Kazumi came in to sight. The other girls weren't with them, they probably declined for one reason or another. "Alright, this is everybody!" Shizuka said, trying to keep up the ruse in case Monokuma was listening. "What are we waiting for, let's get in those hot springs!"

"Fuck yeah! I've been waitin' for a chance to take a dip in dere!" Kazumi said, probably putting in too much enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you suggested this, Shizuka." Takara said, making her own attempt to be convincing. "Some time in the hot spring is sure to help us relax after that motive announcement."

The three girls walked inside. But instead of making their way into the girl's area, they sat in the main room fully clothed. "Alright, we all know why we're here." Shizuka said in a serious tone. "Let's show these strange items." Without another word, they all pulled out an old book-like object. Takara of course had the journal, Shizuka had brought out a sketchbook, and Kazumi had a school notebook. What were these supposed to have in common?

"I came back from the trial and found this lying on my bed." Takara explained. "It seemed strange, because I didn't remember leaving anything out before the investigation began. The strangest thing though is that it looks just like an older version of a journal I packed with me, and my handwriting is clearly in it."

"Same story as us then." Kazumi said. "We came back ta our rooms and found 'em lyin' on our beds."

"And they're both older and used versions of something we brought with us." Shizuka added. "I brought a sketchbook so I could make rough plans for some of my paintings, and also to doodle in. This one has drawings in it already, and some of them are ripped out or covered in something." She opened to a random page in the sketchbook. Just as in the journal, areas of the pages were covered in what looked like ink or blood. A few rough drawings (painting really was Shizuka's strong point) were visible; some were of landscapes or animals, but a few people were in there as well. "But the strangest thing about it is the last page." She flipped the pages to the end of the book. The final page had no drawings or sketches of any kind. Instead there was writing, eerie writing at that. It was the same phrase over and over again, filling up the page. It just said "He's gone". "I don't know what it means or what it's talking about, but I can tell I wrote this."

"Dat's fuckin' creepy." Kazumi said.

"What about your notebook?" Takara asked.

"Well, I mainly use dis in case I get an idea for a song or somethin'." Kazumi said. "But it's got some weird notes in it, like I was in a class or whateva'." She opened up the notebook and showed that it was covered in notes. Takara could barely read them (this handwriting is just atrocious how can she read it?), but could pick out a word or two every now and then. It looked as if these were notes from some kind of class. "I don' remember writtin' dis, but it's clearly my handwritin'. The back pages don' make any sense ta me, so I won' even bother showin' 'em."

"I guess that leaves me then." Takara sighed. She opened up the journal to the next entry she had to read. "I brought a journal so I could record my time at the school, and I've been using it to keep track of everything we've been through at the resort. But this one's been used. I skimmed through the early entries and couldn't find many legible entries, but it was around the middle that I found something. There's still hidden text, but it still gives me enough info to get an idea of what's happened. And it's not pretty."

"What do you mean?" Shizuka asked.

"You should read it for yourself." Takara said. "All I can say is that another class of Hope's Peak students went through a mutual killing game like we are, and it was shown on TV."

"Da fuck?! How's dat even possible?!" Kazumi asked. "Wouldn' da police've done somethin'?"

"I have a feeling that they weren't able to." Takara said. "These entries suggest that something big happened that threw the world into anarchy, but I can't find much info on the details."

Shizuka picked up the journal and read the page it was opened to. She looked over it in silence, a look of fear spreading across her face the more she read. "What the heck is this talking about?" she asked, utterly frightened by what she read. Takara picked up the journal and read it to herself.

_I didn't expect to be woken up by screams this morning, but I'm certain that I never want to hear those screams again for as long as I live. I already knew what it meant, someone else had died in there. And I had a bad feeling I knew who it was. I hate it when I'm right about these things. We all ran to the TV once we heard it. Looking at the screen confirmed it, ********************** was killed. Poor Shizuka, I felt bad for her. Some of her friends had already been killed in this "game", and that wasn't doing her any good as it is. But this broke her if her hysterical crying is anything to go by. Kazumi told us that ******************** was dead as well. Two victims, that's just what they needed._

_Kazumi took Shizuka away from the TV after that. I haven't seen them since then, but I can still hear the sobbing. I don't think she's ever going to recover from this. Her and ************* were close. Thankfully they caught their killer. I'm not surprised to see that it was ************************** who did it, **** seemed like the type who would try to murder, especially for *********. We haven't told Shizuka yet, but hopefully once she calms down we can let her know. It probably won't bring her much solace, but if I lost my ************* like that then I'd want to know if the culprit was caught._

_It feels like things are getting worse day by day. This ********* Life of ************Kill***** is just hurting us further, and Shizuka isn't the only one in a bad state now. Chiyo's migranes are getting worse, I think she's starting to hear voices now. Naomi's temper is becoming harder to handle. And even Satoshi, who's usually an optimist about things, is starting to lose faith. When something like that is happening, you know things have taken a turn for the worst. I try to help him out, but I can only do so much._

_Shizuka's stopped crying, I think she's gotten worn out. Hopefully she can get some sleep after all of this, she's been so worried about *********** that she's neglected sleep to watch the situation at Hope's Peak. But I doubt she'll sleep peacefully tonight, she's probably going to have nightmares. Kazumi's probably with her though, so maybe she'll help. Still no sign of **********. Not sure why I'm still mentioning that as if it's going to change anything._

"You've gotta be shittin' me." Kazumi said. She was reading the journal from behind Takara's shoulder. "Da hell happened ta make Matsuki react like dat? An' how come she's fine now?"

"I don't know," Takara said, closing the journal. "but I think it might have to do with Monokuma's motive."

"You mean he put these things in our rooms?" Shizuka asked, still slightly afraid.

"If these appeared while we were in the trial, then no." Takara said. "But obviously these three items are connected to those lost memories we gave up."

"But ain't dat a load of shit dat jackass came up with?" Kazumi asked.

"No, it definitely isn't." Takara said. "But now I think I understand why someone might try to kill over them, even if we chose to give them up."

Shizuka stood up from where she was sitting. "Well I'm not going to kill anyone over it." she said. "I couldn't bring myself to do it even if I wanted to. Still though, just what made me so distraught?"

"Maybe it's better ya dunno." Kazumi said. "Ignorance is bliss, or whatever."

"Do you know if anyone else has anything like this?" Takara asked.

"I didn't ask any of the boys, I thought Monokuma would get suspicious if I asked them to join us." Shizuka said. "Miyako wouldn't tell me anything, and Kumiko didn't seem to get what I was talking about."

"And ya avoided Naomi." Kazumi said.

"I don't know how these got into our rooms, but if anyone else has them then there's cause to worry." Takara said.

"If we find anything else out, we'll let you know." Shizuka said. The girls picked up their items and made for the exit. "See you later, Takara! I'm glad we could spend time like this!" The ruse was back up.

"Same here, bye!" Takara said. Kazumi and Shizuka went on their way, leaving the journalist with nothing else to do. There was still plenty of time left, so maybe she could spend time with somebody. She thought hard about who to see, and made her way to the hotel once she figured it out.

Just as she suspected, Masaru was hanging out in the restaurant's kitchen. It looked like he was putting the finishing touches on some kind of desert, not surprising for a patisserie. Before she had the chance to speak up, he happened to notice her. "Oh, hey there Takara!" he said enthusiastically. "You have the best timing!"

"I do?" Takara asked.

"You bet! I need someone to taste test these cream puffs for me." Masaru explained, pointing to the deserts. "I need to make sure they taste perfect, you see. I've never tried to make cream puffs before, and I don't wanna serve a faulty dish. So could you help me out?"

"Sure, why not." Takara said. She never had one of his pastries before, so what better time to taste them? If his regular cooking tasted good, then the kind of food he developed a talent around had to be even better.

"Thanks! You're a real help!" Masaru said. He placed one of the cream puffs onto a plate and shoved it into Takara's hands, expectantly waiting for her to eat it. Briefly startled, Takara picked up the cream puff and took a bite out of it. She didn't know how to describe the sensation she was feeling. She'd never tasted any desert like this before. She couldn't help but take a second, larger bite. "Well, how is it?" Masaru asked.

"It's delicious!" Takara said. "No wonder you're the Super High School Level Patisserie."

Masaru laughed nervously, his cheeks going pink in embarrassment. "At least I know I can make them, I suppose." he said.

"It's no wonder your bakery is doing so well though." Takara said. "You could even open up a place of your own some day."

"Actually, I'm hoping I can." Masaru said. "But I don't want to have a bakery, my dream is to open up my own restaurant someday. That's why I try to make non-pastry dishes, I can't have a restaurant if I don't know how to make anything besides pastries after all."

"That sounds pretty ambitious." Takara said. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Of course I can!" Masaru said optimistically. "I'll do whatever I can to reach my dreams. And who knows, maybe if I get better at cooking I'll even be able to surpass Teruteru Hanamura some day!"

"Teruteru Hanamura? Who's that?" Takara asked. The name rang a bell to her, but she couldn't place it. He obviously had to have amazing culinary skills for Masaru to think highly of him.

"You haven't heard of him?" Masaru asked, slightly surprised. It was like he expected her to know who he was. "Teruteru Hanamura is a famous cook whose food is to die for. He's a culinary master, and he's kinda my idol and inspiration. A couple years ago, he got accepted into Hope's Peak as well. I actually hoped that I could meet him there and learn a few pointers, but the way things are now it doesn't look like I'll get to." He sighed.

"You shouldn't give up on that just yet!" Takara said. "We're still trying to find a way out of here, so once we leave I just know you'll get to meet this guy."

"You really think so?" Masaru asked.

"Sure I do!" Takara replied. "If you just give up, then yeah, you'll never meet him. You have to go towards your goal and strive for it!"

"Yeah, yeah you're right!" Masaru said. "We can get out of here, and when we do I'm going to find him and meet my idol! Maybe I can get him to judge my own work!"

"Maybe! Though I doubt he'd be able to turn it down." Takara said.

"Thanks for that, I needed some encouragement." Masaru said. "Ever since this whole mess started I've been feeling kinda down. But I think I'm feeling a little better now."

"Glad I could help." Takara said. "Just keep doing what you do best, like making more of those cream puffs." She eyed the remaining pastries sitting on the counter.

"Don't worry, I'll keep going! And don't start eating all those cream puffs, they're meant for everyone." Masaru said.

"I wasn't gonna eat any more of them, I was just kidding." Takara insisted.

"Alright, if you say so." Masaru said. Though it was clear he was weary of the journalist eating all his pastries. It was clear to Takara that she wasn't wanted there any longer. She left the kitchen, making her way back to her room.

She discretly took the two journals out of her bag and placed them on the desk. There was no reason to keep them on her. She looked out the window, the sun was still in the sky. She thought about reading that journal some more, but decided against it. The weather wasn't as hot as it usually was, so it was a perfect time to be outside. As she opened the door, she found someone standing there, most likely about to knock on her door.

"Oh, did you know I was here already?" Shizuka asked, startled by the door opening.

"Actually no, I was just heading outside and you happened to be here." Takara asked. "You need something?"

"Well, I was hoping, if you don't mind that is, that you would let me paint you or something?" Shizuka nervously asked. "I have the urge to paint somebody, and you were the first person to come to mind."

"Why not. I don't have anything better to do." Takara said.

Shizuka looked surprised, almost as if she expected a no. "Really? I mean, you don't have to do it if you don't want to." she said. "I wouldn't want to force you to do it, you know?"

"Shizuka, it's fine. I don't mind if you paint me." Takara said. "I'm kinda flattered you want me for a subject."

"Thanks a lot Takara, it really means a lot to me!" Shizuka said, practically beaming with happiness. "I hope you don't mind if we do it in my room."

"It's fine, really." Takara said. She left her room and closed the door, following the painter to her room a few doors down. They entered the room and went out on the balcony.

"Just wait here for a minute, I have to get my supplies out." Shizuka said, running back into the room. Takara noticed that the easel was already set up, probably so she wouldn't mess up the carpet in her room itself. Oddly enough, there was already a canvas set up on it. Feeling curious, she walked over to the other side and looked at it, finding an unfinished painting.

She couldn't discern much, as many of the details had yet to be added in. All she could gather was that it was a person, a young male from the look of it. He had neatly styled black hair, but it certainly wasn't the hair of anyone she recognized. Most of his facial features hadn't been added in, the only thing of notice was the red eyes, which looked like they were staring right at her. Was this someone Shizuka knew? "Hey Shizuka, who is this?" she asked.

Shizuka let out a worried squeak and rushed over to the canvas. "Please don't look at this!" she said as she took the painting down. "I don't like people looking at my unfinished work!"

"Oh, sorry about that." Takara said. "If I had known, I wouldn't have-"

"It's not your fault, I thought I put up a clean canvas before I came to get you." Shizuka said, taking the unfinished painting back into her room.

"Is that guy someone from back home?" Takara asked, still wanting to know who it was. "A classmate or friend from your last school or something?"

Shizuka stood there in thought for a moment. "Actually, I don't know who this is." she answered. "I started painting him without even thinking." She looked down at the painting. "But for some reason, looking at him is making me sad..."

"How can you be sad by looking at him if you don't know him?" Takara asked.

"I wish I knew the answer." Shizuka said. "But why don't we get to painting you? That's the reason you're here after all." She grabbed a fresh canvas and placed it on the easel. "Now, I need you to sit in that chair. You'll need to sit still until I'm finished, but I'm sure you knew that already." she said as she removed her scarf and set it down.

Takara sat down as she was instructed. "You don't mind if I talk do you, or would that distract you?" she asked.

"No, I'm not easily distracted." Shizuka replied as she gathered up the paints. "Besides, I'd prefer it if we talked. Otherwise we'd be here for hours in dead silence. Just so long as you're not moving, it should be fine."

"So you told me that there was something important you wanted to do with your scarf. Mind telling me more about that?" Takara asked.

"Oh right, that." Shizuka said, staring at the canvas and moving the brush. "I want to give it to someone important one day."

"Define 'important'." Takara said.

"Hmmm, I guess I mean someone I can trust more than anyone." Shizuka explained. "A person I can tell my secrets to, or can trust without worry. It's a symbol of my own faith in a sense."

"So someone like Kazumi?" Takara asked.

"Oh don't get me wrong, Kazumi is my best friend and all," Shizuka said. "But I don't think I'm ready to give it to her yet. There are a lot of things I haven't told her. Besides, I may end up giving it to somebody else."

"Who else would you give it to though?" Takara asked.

"A boyfriend, if I ever get one." Shizuka said.

"So you haven't found someone you wanna give it to then." Takara stated.

"No, not yet." Shizuka replied. "But I think I'll find that person soon. I can feel it."

"Well if you do give it to some guy you like, you should mess with their head a little bit." Takara said. "Like, tell him that it's a marriage proposal or something!"

"Huh?! I-I couldn't do that!" Shizuka said, embarrassed by the idea.

Takara laughed a little. "Relax, it's only a joke." she said. "No need to take it seriously or anything."

"Oh, yeah, right." Shizuka said.

"Why'd you take it off now though?" Takara asked.

"Because I don't want paint to get on it of course." Shizuka answered. "It's important after all, I don't wanna ruin it by accident, you know."

"Fair enough." Takara said.

"...And there! Finished!" Shizuka said. She placed her brush down and turned the canvas so Takara could see it. For a moment, the journalist thought she was looking at a photograph. She could hardly see the brush strokes at all. Shizuka had even managed to accurately capture the lighting and shadows on her body. All the details were there, she wasn't kidding when she had an eye for detail. "I'll need to add a few touch-ups, but for all intents and purposes we're done!" she said.

"Wow, you must be an artistic genius, Shizuka." Takara said.

"Oh no, I'm no genius." Shizuka insisted as she returned her scarf around her neck. "I only got to my level of skill through hard work and practice. I'm no different from any of the other well-known painters. Besides, painting is the only real thing I'm good at. My grades were always average at best."

"That just means you have a creative mind." Takara said.

"Anyway, I need to let the painting dry for a little, but if you wanna keep it then come and see me later. I'll let you have it, free of charge!" Shizuka said.

"I'll think about it." Takara said. "I should be heading back now, it's getting late and all."

"Alright then, I'll see you later, Takara." Shizuka said.

Takara headed out the door and returned to her own room for the night. It was still a few hours before nighttime would begin, and she wanted to look at the journal before then. She didn't want to go three days without enough sleep. She grabbed the journal off the desk and sat down on her bed, reading more about this first killing game.

\-----------------------

Naomi returned to her room in irritance. Sometimes she hated living in Japan, it was just too different from her old home. What did she have to do just to get some fucking pizza in this country anyway? And then there was this motive, what was Monokuma trying to pull with that stunt? Was he trying to get a reaction out of a certain student, or was he just hoping anyone would snap from the pressure?

And then there were the folders she found the night of the second trial. Just who put these here and why? Even though her and Shigeru were working together now, she couldn't tell him anything about them. They had to be top secret or official. She had no idea, she hadn't even bothered to open them yet. Until now.

She picked up the first folder and took out its contents. From the looks of it, these were Hope's Peak documents. But who had them in the first place, and why give them to her? Perhaps it didn't matter right now. It was about time she learned just what this "Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind" really was.

**12 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	24. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Daily Life III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out, I was gone last weekend and the past couple days were really stressful in general. But I'm gonna try to update more often again! I'd like to get this chapter done soon.

Even though she slept in peace, Takara got a rude awakening. It hadn't even been five minutes after the morning announcement before she heard a banging sound at her door. If someone was trying to deliver a wake-up call, they were a few minutes late. Regardless, she opened the door to find a distraught Kumiko standing there. "Karins, come quickly! There's a terrible, terrible fight happening downstairs!" she frantically said.

"Huh? A fight? Between who?" Takara asked.

"It's Nyaomi and Shizu! And if you don't hurry then Kazuzu will step in and it'll get mega-ugly!" Kumiko said.

Shizuka in a fight? That seemed impossible. But if Naomi was the instigator then there was definitely cause for worry. "Take me where they are, Kumiko." Takara said. Kumiko saluted and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her down the hall and downstairs. Outside the restaurant, Naomi was yelling at Shizuka while the painter certainly looked angry. A small crowd composed of the other students were standing around and watching. "What happened?" Takara asked Satoshi.

"Naomi was coming to get breakfast for her and Shigeru, but it wasn't done yet so she had to wait." Satoshi explained. "We tried to make conversation with her, but she just kept saying rude things and insulted us. Then she said something about how our dead classmates deserved to die and Shizuka wouldn't take it. So things got nasty."

"It's none of their faults!" Shizuka shouted. "Monokuma's the reason they're dead! His motives are the reason Kaito and Hikaru attempted what they did! And we already know Ayame killed on accident!"

"She still went through with it though!" Naomi shouted. "An' what about Chiyo? She died because she decided to go alone after that motive was revealed, it's her own bloody fault she's dead!"

"Don't you dare talk about her that way! Any one of us could've been in her position and you know it!" Shizuka said. "None of them deserved to die!"

"Hikaru was an arse, he cheated on who knows how many women! Scum like that deserves to rot in hell!" Naomi said.

"We have no idea why he did that, or how long ago that was!" Shizuka said. "Even so, he didn't deserve death because of that, or for any reason! Hikaru was still a good person deep down, just like the rest of them!"

"Then why'd he try to kill his friend?!" Naomi asked.

"Because of the damn motive!" Shizuka shouted. "Monokuma knew that someone would kill over their information, that's why he used it!"

"In that case, he knows someone's gonna kill over these missing memories!" Naomi shouted. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you turned up dead soon! You act all nice and sweet, but I ain't believing that for one more minute! Even so, no matter how much people try to tell themselves they wouldn't kill, there's always something that can make them do it! You're just as susceptible as the rest of us!"

"Oy! Ya betta shut da fuck up, bitch! Or I'll make ya!" Kazumi said, walking up to the translator. "Matsuki ain't done nothin' ta ya!"

"And you're just willing to believe her every word blindly?" Naomi asked. "Shigeru was right, you are an idiot! We already know that friendships mean nothing here, so why defend her? You don't know anything about her, she's just a waste of time! None of us here are friends and we never will be!"

"Hey, hey, how about we all just calm down, okay?" Minoru asked, stepping in between the translator and vocalist. "We really shouldn't be fighting like this, so maybe you could just, I dunno, chill out for a sec? Before someone says something that goes too far?" However, it was already too late. Naomi's words seemed to have struck a nerve, as Shizuka ran off soundlessly. Takara couldn't tell, but she swore she had seen tears on the painter's face. Shizuka ran up the stairs, bumping into Ryouta without care, and the next thing they heard was a door slamming shut.

"Ya motherfuckin'-" Kazumi pushed Minoru to the side and punched Naomi in the face. "Don'chu talk 'bout my best friend like dat eva again! Or next time, I'll kill ya!" She ran after Shizuka, also running into Ryouta and knocking him over. Naomi just scoffed and walked away.

Ryouta finally made it down the stairs and looked at the crowd. "What the hell was that?" he asked, in what was the calmest tone Takara had ever heard him speak in. There was no paranoia or anger, just confusion.

"Turmoil. Something we don't need." Minoru said.

Breakfast was eaten in silence. Kazumi and Shizuka didn't come back. Too much was happening now, everything was falling apart. At this rate, the motive wouldn't even be needed for someone to commit a murder. Everyone's stress and distrust would come to a head in due time.

Takara returned to her room, glancing at the strange journal once again. She opened up to the section she had been reading last night, recalling the horrors she found.

_Another death happened in that "game", referring to it as such makes me sick. This time it was ************************ who surprisingly committed suicide. Seems like **** was working for ************ and was ratted out by ************** themselves. ********* ingested poison, but only after being hit on the head twice by ********************** and ****************** first. The real surprise though came from ************************ who was trying to hide the fact that *********** killed ****self and wanted everyone else to die with ****. Poor thing, after seeing **** and Shizuka I can only imagine how much pain one feels when losing someone close to you._

_Speaking of, her condition hasn't improved in the slightest. It's like she isn't even herself anymore. I knew ***************'s death had hit her hard, but this is worse than I imagined. She barely speaks or eats, and most of the time she's either locked up in her room or staring off into space. It's like she's lost all hope. The only reason she still seems to be going is Kazumi, if not for her then Shizuka probably would've ********************** or something. Of course, she's not the only one in terrible shape._

_Many of the others are falling into despair, while others are clinging to what hopes they still have. With everything that's happened to us on top of the killing game, it's too much for the others to handle. *********** hasn't faltered though, which is a surprise to me. **** has been doing whatever **** can to bring the others out of despair and raise their hopes. It's working for the most part, though there are a few that **** can't help. It also helps that the remaining ************* decided not to continue playing in ************* sick killing game. I think that's helped us hold on._

_As much as I hate to say it, I truly think *********** is dead. **** hasn't returned and we've found no sight of ****. It's just been too long at this point. I will no longer talk about ********* from this point._

She was glad that she couldn't remember any of these things, whatever had happened was definitely tragic. A while later she left her room, making her way to the lounge to relax. Opening the door, she found Minoru sitting inside. The vet noticed her walk in and tried to smile. "Hello there, Takara." he said.

"Oh, hi." Takara said. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I felt I needed some time to myself, though I don't mind if you're here." Minoru said. "Why don't you come in and relax? I mean, I'm guess that's what you came here to do, right?" Unable to feel like rejecting the offer, Takara walked in and sat on a beanbag chair next to him. "You want to talk about things?" he asked. "After what happened this morning, I feel like there needs to be more communication between us."

Takara thought for a moment. Minoru seemed like a nice person, surely there was no harm talking to him. She wouldn't be able to talk about the journal of course, but that was the least of her worries. "Sure, let's talk." she said.

\-------------------------------------

Shigeru couldn't believe what he was looking at. These pictures, the papers, they had to be faked, didn't they? There's no possible way they could be real. But the more he looked at them, the more they proved to be true. The papers had Hope's Peak Academy's symbol on them and were signed by the headmaster himself. And these pictures... Well, they were proof that what Monokuma had told them was real.

He placed them all away in the folder he found them in, he needed to discuss this with Naomi at once. In the back of his mind, a scheme was beginning to unfold. He knew that the others were just draging him down, it didn't matter what happened to them anymore.

\--------------------------------------

"You look sooooooooo much better in glasses, Ryose! You should wear them more often!"

Ryouta jumped back at the sound of Kumiko's voice. How the hell did she sneak up on him like that?! She was so loud that being stealthy seemed impossible for her! The comic artist laughed at the skittish florist's actions.

"W-whether I wear glasses or not is none of your business!" he stuttered. He hated having to wear them, but with his contacts broken there was no other choice. "What do you want anyway?!"

"Weeeeeeeell, I saw ya coming into the casino and that just seemed really really weird!" Kumiko explained. "So I decided to follow you and find out what'cha doing!"

Ryouta groaned. Was it really that simple of a reason? "I'm only here to look around." he said. "There aren't any casinos in Japan and I'm curious. The fact that there's one here instead of a pachinko parlor means this is obviously a Western resort. That or it's a Japanese made resort that is outside of Japan. I want to find out which one it is."

"Ooooooooooooo! Let Kumiko help you! I'm good at figuring this stuff out!" Kumiko said energetically.

"I don't want your help! You'll just stab me in the back so you can get those memories back!" Ryouta accused.

"Say whaaaaaaaaaaat? I wouldn't do that, Ryose!" Kumiko said. "I don't really care for those missing memories of ours anyway! Although there is a feeling that my brain wants to tell me I forgot something super duper important with all of that stuff, but it ain't enough to make me wanna kill you! All I wanna do is make you stop being such a grump!"

"I still don't want your help! I can't take the risk of trusting you!" Ryouta said.

"But why?" Kumiko asked. "Trusting me is a whole lot better than being afraid of me! If ya don't trust someone, then it's gonna bite you in the butt sooner or later. I mean, just look at what happened when Hikuharu turned up dead! Lots and lots of people turned to you 'cause of your sneaky behavior!"

Ryouta froze. "That wasn't my fault though!" he insisted.

"If you hadn't been trying to avoid us at breakfast though, then allllll that mess with Aya could've been avoided. That's all I'm saying!" Kumiko said.

"Just leave me alone! I don't need to be listening to you." Ryouta said.

"Oooooooo, who's this lady?" Kumiko said, no longer paying attention to Ryouta. The florist turned to see her staring at some painting that was hanging up on the wall. He walked over to her and got a look at it himself. The subject was a young woman, hardly older than any of them. She had incredibly pale skin and red eyes that seemed to stare back at him. Her black hair was done up into drill-styled twintails. She wore a black lolita dress with lace all over it. In her hand were five cards. The smug smile on her face seemed to imply that she was about to win whatever game she was playing. It was frightening to look at.

Ryouta looked down at the plaque and read what it said. "'The Queen of Liars'... Is that who this person is?" he said.

"Oooooooo, talk about mysterious!" Kumiko said. "Wonder what her real name is though?"

"It doesn't say." Ryouta told her. "All it says is this is the Queen of Liars." He looked back up at the painting, feeling intimidated by her stare. "I'm glad she's not here with us though. She'd probably try to kill us with no remorse."

"But she looks so cooooool!" Kumiko said, blind to Ryouta's fear. "I wanna touch her hair to make sure it's real!"

Trying to ignore that comment, Ryouta took his chance to slip away without Kumiko noticing. Even if she wouldn't try to kill him, he wanted to avoid her as much as possible.

\---------------------------

"It's amazing that you're able to remain so calm in this situation." Takara said.

"I'm just used to being thrown into stressful situations I guess." Minoru said. "Believe me, being a veterinarian is harder than it sounds."

"Still though, being stuck here with no way to escape, I'm barely able to keep my cool in this situation." Takara admitted. "And you're always so worried about the rest of us. You're usually a pushover but there's been times where you've taken charge and tried to do something. It's kinda strange."

"That's probably just my brotherly instinct kicking in." Minoru replied. "I'm the oldest back home, so I've had to look after my siblings along with a lot of pets."

"Knowing you, I bet you could handle a couple of dogs or cats." Takara said.

"Well, we kinda have more than just a couple..." Minoru admitted, looking away. "We erm, kinda have nine pets..."

"Nine?!" Takara shouted, nearly jumping out of her seat. "How can you handle nine pets?!"

"Well, we Yoshiharas just love animals." Minoru said. "A lot of our pets are rescue animals. We found them on the street, hungry and cold and needing love. And well, we couldn't let them die out there. So we took them in and give them proper love!"

"I'm just surprised you can handle that many." Takara said.

"Well I don't do it alone, my whole family helps out." Minoru said. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a wallet full of photographs. All of them showed dogs and cats, with the occasional child or Minoru next to it. "I hope you don't mind, but I just had to show you these pictures. I can't help it."

"You keep that around with you?" Takara asked.

"Well of course! Why wouldn't I?" Minoru asked. He shuffled through the pictures until he found one of himself holding a small orange cat. "I managed to rescue this one actually. She was left in an alleyway in the middle of winter. I heard her mewling out for help and rushed her home. Because of that, she only likes me. The rest of my family makes her tense up."

"She looks pretty cute." Takara said. "What's her name?"

"Well, um, I didn't actually name her myself. One of my sisters did." Minoru explained, trying to nervously laugh things off. "Her name's Kari."

"Kari? That's a weird name." Takara said.

"Like I said, one of my younger sisters named her." Minoru said, getting a bit frantic. "I'm not sure how she came up with it."

"Oh well, I think it's cute." Takara said.

"We're getting off subject, aren't we?" Minoru said, putting the wallet away just as quickly as he got it out. "Anyway, I guess that being the oldest here is another reason why I worry about everyone."

"And how do you know that you're the oldest here?" Takara asked.

"I just turned seventeen a few weeks ago." Minoru said. "Trust me, I _know_ I'm the oldest here."

"How can you be seventeen and only starting high school though?" Takara asked.

"Well, I got held back for a year." Minoru said. "Something big happened that caused me to put more focus on the animal hospital than my schoolwork. My grades slipped and I needed to redo the whole year."

"Yikes, what happened to cause that?" Takara asked.

"...I'm sorry Takara, I don't think I'm ready to talk about that yet." Minoru said, his head hanging low. "It's a hard thing to bring up, so forgive me if I'm not willing to go into detail. You don't mind, do you?"

"That's fine. I won't push you." Takara said. "We can talk about something else if you like."

"We've been talking for a few hours now though." Minoru said, laughing nervously. "There's no point staying cooped up in here all day. You should go get some fresh air. We can talk later though."

Takara had to admit, she did feel better. Some fresh air could do her good. "Alright then. I guess I'll see you later then." she said as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Have a nice day, Takara!" Minoru said, waving at her. Takara smiled and closed the door. Maybe with someone like him around, the tension could decrease. She walked outside and headed for the Entertainment District, as she decided to call it. On her way there, she heard a beeping sound come from her e-Handbook. Curious, she took it out to see that a new rule had been added.

**11\. The stealing of items from someone, especially from Headmaster Monokuma, is strictly prohibited. Anyone caught in the act of thievery will be punished accordingly. This includes the stealing of room keys and e-Handbooks.**

A rule about stealing? Why would that need to be added? Maybe someone had brought it up with Monokuma? And what was with that "especially from Monokuma" part? She sighed, realizing that it just made for even more mysteries for her to figure out. Remembering what she was doing, she made her way to the Entertainment District.

Walking up towards the carousel, she happened to spot Miyako by herself. "Hey, Miyako!" she called. "What're ya doing?"

The lucky student tilted her head up at the journalist. "Oh, hi." she said. "Not much really. Just looking at this." She gestured to the carousel.

"Why look at it when you can ride it?" Takara asked. "It's not like it doesn't work."

"Oh. I didn't know that." Miyako said.

"Hey, why don't we have some lunch? You've gotta be hungry by now." Takara suggested.

"I was hoping to be alone." Miyako said.

"But you're always by yourself." Takara pointed out. "You should at least give me a chance."

"I'm not that hungry though." Miyako said. "I had a big breakfast."

"Come on, the least you could do is humor me here." Takara said. "I wanna know more about you, you're always so withdrawn! Surely you could spare me a few minutes of your time?"

"I'm like that for a reason though." Miyako said.

"Please, Miyako? Just let me spend some time with you." Takara pleaded.

"...You're not going to stop asking, are you?" Miyako asked.

"Nope. I'm determined to figure you out." Takara said.

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Miyako stated. "Fine, we can hang out for a while."

"Thanks, Miyako!" Takara said.

"Okay." Miyako said. "But no eating."

"Well, we can just hang out and talk." Takara said. "What kind of things are you interested in?"

"...Rube Goldberg machines." Miyako answered, after taking a moment to think.

"Huh? Rube Goldberg machines?" Takara asked, surprised that she said that.

"You do know what that is, don't you?" Miyako asked.

"Well yeah! Those are the complicated machines that do a simple task, right?" Takara said.

"Okay, you do know. That's good." Miyako said.

"You're really interested in those things?" Takara asked. "I don't think I've heard of someone who's so fascinated in them."

"Is something wrong with that?" Miyako asked.

"No, no! Of course not! I'm just wondering why you like them so much." Takara said.

"Oh." Miyako said. "I think it's amazing something so complicated can be used to perform a simple task. It's strange, but interesting. I've made some myself for the fun of it actually. They don't always work the way I planned though."

"You think I could see you make one sometime?" Takara asked.

"...You'd really be interested in seeing me make one?" Miyako asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Well yeah, I've never seen one in action before." Takara said.

"........Sure, I'll make sure to let you know next time I decide to make one." Miyako said. It was hard to tell, but Takara thought she saw the faint hint of a smile on her face just then. "Maybe I'll make one tomorrow."

"I can't wait to see it." Takara said, smiling back.

The two parted ways and returned to the hotel. Once again, a few hours remained before nighttime would begin. Takara picked up the journal and sat on her bed to read it. At this point it was becoming habit, like reading a book before bed. Though it wasn't out of enjoyment, but necessity. There had to be something lying within that could help her and the others in their situation.

**12 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	25. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Daily Life IV

Takara walked into the restaurant and sat down with Satoshi. The archaeologist smiled at her as they were joined by Kazumi and Shizuka, who had just came out of the kitchen. There was no sign of Naomi or Shigeru anywhere. Had they already gotten their breakfast? "Did Naomi and Shigeru already get their food?" she asked the people sitting at her table.

"Who knows, and who gives a shit?" Kazumi asked.

"Masaru said neither of them have come in." Satoshi answered.

"No one's seen them all morning." Shizuka said. "Maybe they're getting their meals somewhere else so they can avoid us. I certainly wouldn't be surprised." She yawned and rubbed one of her eyes tiredly.

"You doing okay there, Shizuka? You seem out of it." Takara said.

"Huh?" Shizuka said. "Oh, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night. I was having some really strange dreams. But I'll be fine, honest. I just need some of Kumiko's Super Coffee, or whatever she called it. I've already got her making some."

"Izzat why ya don' got yer scarf?" Kazumi asked.

"My scarf?" Shizuka said. She felt around her neck for her scarf, only to find it wasn't there just as Kazumi had said. "Oh, I must've left it in my room. I'll just get it after breakfast."

"Alright, if ya say so, Matsuki." Kazumi said. "Ya may wanna take a nap while yer at it. Don' wan'cha ta fall asleep while we're doin' karaoke later today, ya know?"

"Okay, Kazumi, I'll take a quick one. Promise." Shizuka said.

"What happened to you yesterday? You didn't come back for breakfast after what happened with Naomi yesterday." Satoshi said.

"Oh yeah, that." Shizuka said. "I just needed some alone time. I usually don't get into fights like that, but I can't stand for anyone disrespecting the dead like she was. I don't care what Hikaru did before we met him, I knew him as a good person and want to remember him as such. I did some painting after that happened to clear my mind. I'm fine now, honest."

"Yeah, I jus' wanted ta check up on her ta make sure she was fine." Kazumi reaffirmed. "I helped her calm down an' shit, then I left her alone like she wanted."

"Well, at least you're doing better now, don't you agree, Kara-chan?" Satoshi said, flashing a grin at Takara.

"Okay, I'm starting to get annoyed by that again." Takara said as Kazumi smirked.

"You could put it a little nicer you know." Satoshi said.

"Anyway, I'm sure Shigeru and Naomi will come back to their senses sooner or later." Shizuka said as Kumiko placed a mug of coffee on the table. "They can't be hiding forever."

"I wanna believe ya, but considerin' how Kitagawa's had a stick up his ass since day one I don' see it happenin'." Kazumi said.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Takara said. Masaru came out of the kitchen with breakfast, causing all conversation to stop. All thoughts of the missing two were halted as they ate, though neither of them came in throughout the meal. Takara finished her food and made her way back to her room, but not before she was stopped by Shizuka. The painter discretely handed her the sketchbook she had shown her a few days ago.

"I thought this might be better in your hands." she whispered. "I've looked through it a number of times, but I think I've gotten everything I can out of it. Keep it hidden." With that, she walked back to her seat and ate the rest of her own food.

Confused, Takara went to the second floor and entered her room. She set the sketchbook down next to her journal on the desk. Perhaps it would help her understand more about the events she had read about. She tried to recall what she had read last night. It had delved into the final events of that first killing game, but even more details had been omitted near the end. The name of the person behind everything, and many of the details of the final trial, were blocked by thick black lines. All she could gather was that there had been a sixteenth student among them, who had already died without them knowing. And after all the hardships they had been through, the survivors managed to leave the school. But the show had ended, and their fates were left unknown.

But then again, maybe it would be mentioned later in the journal. There were still a number of pages left, and she still needed to examine the earlier pages as she only skimmed them before. She wanted to look through it now, but she had spent the past three days looking through it. Even she needed a break. Takara decided to leave her room and look around the resort.

She went to the Entertainment District and headed for the museum. She never had a chance to look through it's exhibits. She made her way to the entrance of the history exhibits, only to bump into someone trying to leave. "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" she said.

"Hehe, don't worry about it, I didn't see you either. I guess we're even!" Satoshi said, laughing at the predicament. "You want to take a look at the exhibits together? This place feels so intimidating when you're by yourself.

"Eh, why not?" Takara said. The two of them walked into the exhibits and looked around. They certainly had everything in here. Fossils, ancient art, even skeletons, it was all so fascinating. Satoshi just seemed to be looking at everything like he wasn't interested. "You alright?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This just reminds me too much of my archaeology days." Satoshi said.

"Then let's talk about something else." Takara said. "You told me you wanted to find your own talent before, so tell me more about that!"

"But what else can I say about that?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, what were you hoping to get into?" Takara asked. "Like what kind of skill do you think you have?"

"Hmmm..." Satoshi stood there, pondering an answer. "Um, I guess I could always try being a teacher or something. If there's one good thing being an archaeologist has done, it's allowed me to learn a lot about history. So I could always try teaching it."

"You'd probably make a good teacher." Takara said. "I could see students liking you."

"You really think so?" Satoshi asked hopefully.

"Yeah, so long as you don't do the nicknaming thing you do with me." Takara said.

"Aww, but that's so much fun!" Satoshi said jokingly.

"I have to ask though, why do you want to become a journalist like me?" Takara asked. "I'm probably the only person who really takes the field seriously."

" _Because_ of you." Satoshi said. "I never cared much about it before I heard about you. The way you treat journalism, you could probably change it entirely. And I'd love to be working in the same field with someone like you."

"Oh come on, there's no way I'm the only reason." Takara said. "There has to be something else to it."

"Well, not really." Satoshi admitted.

"But what if you had never got to meet me or work with me?" Takara asked. "What would ya do then?"

"I guess I'd be disappointed, but it wouldn't be that big of a deal." Satoshi said. "I'd still be working in the same field, so it would mean I achieved my dream."

"You're way too optimistic, it's kinda creepy." Takara said, laughing slightly.

"Hey, it's not as bad as your stubbornness." Satoshi said, laughing back.

"Okay, you got me there." Takara said. "Well, whatever you try to do with your life, I hope you're happy."

"Thanks, Kara-chan." Satoshi smiled.

\----------------------------------

"Awright! It's time for some motherfuckin' karaoke!" Kazumi said as she walked towards the karaoke bar. Behind her were Shizuka, Minoru, and Kumiko. "Y'all are 'bout ta see why I'mma Super High School Level Vocalist in person!"

"Oh boy! I've never, ever, ever done karaoke before!" Kumiko said. "I bet it's gonna be super duper fun!"

"It's my first time too, actually." Shizuka admitted. "I just hope I'm a decent singer."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine." Minoru said. "You should try to have some more confidence in yourself."

Kazumi kicked open the door, only to stand in the entrance with shock. "Woah, da fuck happened here?" she asked. The place was a mess. Tables and chairs were tipped over and scattered. Drink bottles were lying haphazardly all over the floor. The bar looked like a disaster. There were even shards of glass on the ground.

"Looks like someone had a party in here!" Kumiko said, acting like nothing was wrong. "Besides, weren't we gonna use a private booth anyway?"

"Kumiko's right. Someone probably just had too much fun and forgot to clean up." Minoru said. "Let's pick a booth and then I'll get some snacks for us."

The group walked inside and made their way back to the private booths, avoiding all the debris on the ground. Shizuka walked over to a door and began to open it. "Alright, let's try to have some kara-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" she screamed as she looked inside the room. The other three looked inside as well, horrified to see what they found. Kumiko actually screamed.

While the room was a bit of a mess, it was nothing compared to what was slumped on the floor. Shigeru Kitagawa was lying on the ground, a pool of blood coming from his head and forming under him. The gloves on his hands had blood on them as well, along with a spot on the back of his left leg. His normally tidy and presentable appearance was gone. His hair was disheveled and his clothes baggy and misplaced.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voiced announced. "After a brief investigation period, which you may use however you like, we will begin our class trial." The sound of the monitor shutting off confirmed it, Shigeru Kitagawa was dead.

"No fuckin' way..." Kazumi said. "Someone actually offed Kitagawa? I dunno whether ta be thankful or frightened."

"Wh-what do we do? The others need to know where the body is..." Shizuka said.

"I'll go do it!" Kumiko offered. "I can get everyone faster than you can say 'Hokkaido crabs'!" She ran for the exit, deciding to take the bar as a shortcut. But something managed to make her trip at the end. She stood up and saw something covered by a black curtain, it was obviously what made her trip. "Geez! If the culprit was trying to clean up their mess than they're not very good at it!" she said. She removed the curtain in an attempt to reveal what made her trip. But when she saw it, she screamed again. "HOLY PHAZON SPORES!" The other three ran over to see what she found, but it just made their hearts sink.

"Kumiko, go find the others, NOW!" Minoru said, fear in his tone. The comic artist didn't hesitate to leave immediately.

Lying under the curtain had been a number of things. A blood covered shovel, pieces of another broken bottle, and Naomi Williams. Just like Shigeru, her appearance was a wreck. Besides her braidless hair, her sweater vest was missing and her blouse looked more like Kazumi's in the way it was worn. The bottom of her skirt was torn away and a shoe was missing. Her glasses were shattered as they sat precariously on the bridge of her nose. And also like Shigeru, a pool of blood was forming under her head and her fingers were coated with blood. Another Body Discovery Announcement played and revealed the truth. There were two classmates dead, and they had to find their killer.

**10 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is a bit short, but I wanted to get to the body discovery right away.
> 
> Also the asshole character died this time! But I'll tell you now, that's not even the shocking part of this case. I am both excited to get to the trial, and not happy about having to write it.


	26. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Deadly Life (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this was a bit tricky, but I think I managed to pull off everything I wanted. I really hope that none of my readers know French right now, because otherwise the culprit's identity is gonna be spoiled completely. If you do know it though, please don't say anything, I really want the culprit discovery to come as a bit of a shock. If you don't know French though, you should be good. Once again, I'm gonna need to take some time to finish writing up the trial before it gets uploaded, so it's gonna be a few days at least.

Takara ran into the karaoke bar, finding everyone else already there. The place really did look bad, Kumiko wasn't exaggerating when she came to her. In plain sight by the bar was Naomi's body. She walked over to the booth in the back of the room and peeked inside, getting a look at Shigeru. She didn't care how much she didn't like him, not even the composer deserved a fate like this. Neither of them did.

"Damn, we have two victims this time?" Masaru asked. "But why two? Isn't one enough as it is?"

"To murder two people... The culprit has to be crazy to do it!" Ryouta said, his whole body shaking.

"Well at least we don' got Kitagawa bossin' us around or actin' like a prick no more." Kazumi said. "Karma finally caught up with him."

"Don't say something like that." Shizuka said, a depressed look on her face. "They may have been less then pleasant, but they were still our classmates. And neither of them deserved to die just because of that alone, or for any other reason at that."

"Woohoohoo! Boy this place is a mess! Whichever one of you was the killer sure left a number on this place!" Monokuma said, having appeared on the bar. "I'd congratulate you myself, but then I'd give your identity away!"

"Of course you'd be enjoying this." Takara stated.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad a murder happened a bit earlier this time around, but it's such a shame that Shigeru was the one who was killed." Monokuma said. "That boy looked to be a promising player in this here vacation of yours, but he turned out to be nothing more than a side character!"

"There was only a day's difference in the murder time, though!" Kumiko said.

"You should just give us the Monokuma File and leave." Miyako said. "That is what you came here for, right?"

"Hmph! Fine! I can see I'm not wanted here." Monokuma said. He handed out the tablets to everyone in the room. "Be careful though, kiddies. You don't know how this case may turn out!"

"Wait, what if the killer still has a taste for blood?!" Ryouta frantically asked. "They may try to kill someone else during the investigation!"

"Oh please, that won't be a problem!" Monokuma said. "Only a maximum of two students can be killed at once. If we didn't have that rule in place, then you'd all be dropping like flies and the story would come to a boring end! Since you're all here and have heard it, I don't think I need to add it to the set of rules."

"So we're not in any danger now that Shigeru and Naomi are dead." Minoru said.

"That's a relief." Takara said. "There usually are cases where if there's more than one death, others are to follow. But we're safe from that possibility."

"If there's nothing else you bastards need, I'll be on my way." Monokuma said. "Happy investigating!" He jumped behind the bar and vanished.

"First thing's first, what should we do about the guard situation?" Satoshi asked. "The bodies are a bit of a ways from each other, so two might not suffice this time around."

"And we shouldn't move either body. It could disrupt the crime scene." Takara added.

"I'm sorry, but I need to leave the room right now." Shizuka said with a groan. "This is too much for me to deal with, it's making my head hurt. I have to investigate somewhere else this time." Before anyone could say another word, the painter rushed out the door.

"Guess da fact dat dere's two bodies was too much for her." Kazumi said. "I'm surprised she managed ta hold out dis long. Can't blame her for leavin' though."

"Anyway, let's get back to the guard situation." Minoru said. "Kazumi and Arata, I'm sure there's no objections from either of you?" The two of them shook their heads, indicating they had no problems with watching the bodies. "So if we include Shizuka, that would leave eight of us to investigate. Considering our low numbers, we should have one more guard to watch these two."

"I'll do it." Masaru said. "I don't think I can really do much else right now."

"Okay, so Marscapone will keep a look out on Kazu and the pervert just in case one of them did it!" Kumiko said.

"I'll stick with Naomi, I don' wanna be near Kitagawa even if he's dead." Kazumi said.

"In that case, I'll watch him." Arata said.

"In that case, let's get started." Satoshi said. Just as before, the group of them split up. Alongside the three guards, Minoru and Kumiko stayed in the karaoke bar along with Takara. As usual, she decided to start with the Monokuma File. She turned it on and read the details.

**The victims are Shigeru Kitagawa and Naomi Williams. They both were killed last night around approximately 9:30 p.m., though they did not die at the exact same time. Their bodies were found in the karaoke bar. Shigeru's cause of death is multiple blows to the head, while Naomi's is one blow to the head. It should be noted that different weapons were used on each victim. Shigeru has small stab marks on his left leg that were delivered before death. Naomi has no other wounds.**

The Monokuma File seemed more helpful than usual this time around. She expected some amount of information to be withheld. Was there a reason for it? Only investigating could tell her. She decided the best thing to do would be to talk to the four people who found the bodies, and investigate the bodies as well.

She walked over to Naomi's body, who was being guarded by Kazumi. Masaru was there as well, looking at something on the ground. She approached Kazumi first. "So Kazumi, can you tell me what happened when you and the others found the bodies?"

"Huh? Sure, I guess." Kazumi replied. "Matsuki said she wanted ta try out karaoke with me an' a few other people, so we got Akamine an' Yoshihara ta join us an' came here. The place was a total mess when we got here, so it probably happened before we showed up. Thinkin' 'bout it now, it musta happened during the murder or somethin'. Anyway, we ignored it an' went ta da back where da booths were. Matsuki opened the door, an' we saw Kitagawa lyin' dere. Matsuki said someone should get the others, an' Akamine made her way out. A second later we heard her scream an' dat's when we saw Naomi here."

"How did you not notice her before though, and how did Kumiko find her?" Takara asked.

"I don' fuckin' know! The rest of us were still in shock an' shit!" Kazumi said. "Go ask her if ya wanna know dat!"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Takara said. She made a mental note to talk to Kumiko in a minute. Shizuka was also the one who found the first body, so she was definitely someone to go talk to once she was done here. She took a close look at the body and what was near it. The first thing that caught her eye was the bloody shovel. No doubt about it, it had to be a weapon. It was a surprise to find it just lying there, she thought that it would be a challenge to find the weapons this time around since they were a difficult task the first few times. "But what's a shovel doing here in the first place?" she asked herself out loud.

"Someone must've brought it here." Masaru said. "Not sure why, but then again I'm no murder expert."

"Where did it come from though?" Takara asked.

"If I had to guess, there's two possibilities that come to mind." Masaru said. "Possibility one: it came from the shed in the botanical gardens. Ryouta would probably know that better than anyone though, since he spends a lot of time there, so you should ask him about it. The only other option I can think of is that it belongs to Satoshi, since he's an archaeologist and all."

"Wait, are you saying that he did this?" Takara asked.

"Woah, what?! No! I didn't mean to imply that!" Masaru insisted. "Just because it could be his shovel doesn't mean he did it! He could have left it around somewhere on accident and someone took it. But it's best to see his side of the story anyway."

"Say, what's got your attention so much?" Takara asked.

"I'm not so sure, but I think it's a 'dying message'." Masaru said.

"What da fuck is a dyin' message?" Kazumi asked.

"It's when a person leaves a message in their last moments of life." Takara explained. "It tends to reveal the identity of the killer, but it's not always precise. They also try to hide it so the killer won't notice it."

"This one wasn't really hidden though." Masaru said. "It was just here by her hand." He pointed at her blood-coated fingers.

"Why'd she jus' leave it out in da open like dat?" Kazumi asked.

"Well, I'll be honest, I can't even understand what it says." Masaru said. Takara looked over at the supposed dying message, fiding she couldn't understand it either. She had no idea what it said. "Knowing Naomi, she probably wrote it in a different language so her killer wouldn't understand it. From the looks of it, I'd say it's French. I know a little bit, but I don't know this word."

"It certainly don' make sense ta me!" Kazumi said. "Da fuck does dat even say?"

"It looks like 'peintre'." Masaru said. "Though I'm not sure I'm saying that right. Like I said, I'm kinda rusty on the language."

"Is there anyone else here who knows French?" Takara asked.

"I don't know." Masaru said. "But we don't have the time to ask everyone."

"Good point." Takara said. She began to think about the dying message. If Naomi had the time to write it out, that meant she didn't die instantly. She'd need to remember that for later. There was one final object near the body, a bottle that was broken into pieces. If there truly was a struggle, it had fallen off the bar during it. She noticed that one of the pieces was farther away than the others. In fact, it was on the opposite side of Naomi's body compared to the rest of the pieces. Could that be important at all?

There probably wasn't much else to find around Naomi's body, so she decided to move on and enter the booth where Shigeru was found. Arata was standing by the body, guarding it as he was told. Minoru was examining the corpse, while Kumiko was looking around the room. There was a strange smell in the room, but she couldn't place the location of it. It wasn't of importance to her at that moment though, she had to talk to Kumiko. "Kumiko, could you tell me how you found Naomi's body?"

Kumiko turned towards the journalist and saluted. "Yessir!" she said. "We already found Gerugu here in the booth, and I volunteered to go get everyone else to tell them where he was! I decided to go through the bar, but I tripped on something! Turned out it was being hidden with a curtain of sorts! Wondering what was under it, I took off the curtain and found poor Nyaomi. Then I screamed, the others came over, and Yoshi told me to get everyone again! So I went and found everyone, including you!"

Why would the culprit hide Naomi under a curtain? That didn't make much sense. "Well that explains why you didn't see her body right away." Takara said.

"Yeah, I guess so!" Kumiko replied.

Takara walked over to the body, still unable to believe that Shigeru of all people was dead. "I don't think anyone expected him to die." Arata said, noticing the look on her face. "Kitagawa didn't come off as the type that would just go down without a fight."

"No, he certainly didn't." Takara said. She got down on her knees and looked around Shigeru. He was in a similar state to Naomi, the only difference was the blood on his leg. She looked at the bloodstained pants with the hopes of seeing the wound. However, there was no large slit. There were only small holes gathered in one spot. Either the wound was similar to Chiyo's, and he had been stabbed more than once, or whatever he was stabbed with caused him multiple wounds at once.

She looked at his head, where the killing blow was struck. The first thing that managed to catch her eye though was a bottle lying in the puddle of blood. She quickly glanced around the room, seeing a few other bottles lying around it. Why were these even here? Was someone using this room? She picked up the bottle and got a closer look at it. It looked like an alcoholic drink just from the label. The bottom of it was covered in blood. Probably from being in the pool of it for so long. The only other thing she noticed was a small crack that was barely visible. She couldn't believe she had noticed that. She thought she gathered all she could, so perhaps Minoru could help her. "Hey, Minoru, what's your assessment of the situation?" she asked.

The veterinarian looked up at her and sighed. "There really isn't much I can gather from this." he said. "I'm not a doctor you know. All I can say is that the information in the Monokuma File is spot on."

"Oh, alright." Takara said. "Say, did you or the others do any investigating while Kumiko was getting us?"

"No, we were all just waiting for the rest of you." Minoru answered. "Everything was left exactly as we found it."

"Okay." Takara said. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything."

"Oh, there's one other thing I found on Shigeru." Minoru suddenly said. "It doesn't have anything to do with the state of his body, but I think it's important."

"What is it? Show me!" Takara said.

"Well, I can't really show you that one, because it has more to do with something that's not there." Minoru admitted. "I searched everywhere I could think of, and his room key is missing."

Another case of a missing key? That seemed strange. "You don't think it's because the bodies were moved again, do you?" Takara asked.

"I doubt it. Though I'd need to examine Naomi's body first to see if she's missing her own." Minoru said. "But regardless of when the murder took place last night or this morning, there's no way anyone would be able to transport one body while being discreet. Trying to move two seems even less likely. So no, the bodies were here the whole time."

"Then why is he missing his room key?" Takara asked.

"Obviously, it was taken from him." Arata said. "The culprit took his room key for some unknown purpose."

"But wouldn't that be considered stealing?" Takara asked.

"No, I don't think so." Arata replied. "I have a feeling Monokuma has his own ideas of what he considers stealing. There's a loophole to this rule that we need to figure out."

"Anyway, I'll have to examine Naomi's body before I can draw any proper conclusions." Minoru said. "Come ask me about it later, it's gonna take me a moment."

"Alright, I have other places to investigate in the meantime." Takara said. She stood up and left the booth, exiting the karaoke bar altogether. She stood in thought for a moment. She still needed to find Shizuka and get some information from her concerning the body discovery. She also needed to find Ryouta and Satoshi so she could ask about the shovel. Aside from that, she decided that she needed to look around the victim's rooms. The two of them had been keeping something from them, and Takara couldn't help but think that whatever it was had something to do with this case.

She made her way to the hotel, finding herself there in a heartbeat. She saw Miyako leaving the building, perhaps she knew where the others were. "Hey, Miyako, do you know where Shizuka, Satoshi, or Ryouta are by any chance?" she asked.

Miyako blinked, taking a moment to think. "Shizuka's looking in Naomi's room, and I think she wanted to check Shigeru's as well." she said. "The other two went to where all the stores are. Not sure why though."

"Thanks! You found anything of interest?" Takara asked. Miyako shook her head and walked towards the Entertainment District without another word. Takara ignored her and headed inside. Shizuka was looking in their rooms? That killed two birds with one stone! Without a moment to lose, she walked up the stairs and entered Naomi's room.

Nothing was unusual about the room, at least not from what she could see. Just as she hoped, Shizuka was there. The painter looked at the door and was surprised to see her there. "Oh, Takara! I was about to come find you!" she said.

"You were? What for?" Takara asked.

Shizuka came closer to her and whispered in her ear. "Looks like Naomi had a strange file in her room, and it looks like it's another thing connected to our missing memories." she said. "I left it on her desk for you, so you should grab it before the trial starts."

"What about Shigeru?" Takara asked.

"He had some as well." Shizuka answered. "I don't know if any of these are important to the case or not, but you should take them. They can help fill in the details of what's missing from your journal." She stepped away, trying to act like nothing happened. "I'm afraid I don't have any more potential evidence, but knowing you, I bet you can figure out this case without much of my help."

"Thanks for letting me know." Takara said. "Nothing else here that's out of the ordinary then?"

"No, not that I can tell." Shizuka said. "The only thing I can suggest is that you take a further look at the karaoke booth where I found Shigeru."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! Can you tell me a bit more about what happened when you found him?" Takara asked.

"Hmm, well, me and Kazumi gathered a few people for karaoke." Shizuka said. "We got there and found the place was a wreck, but we decided to ignore it. I picked a booth, and happened to find Shigeru inside. Then I suggested that someone get everyone else, and then Kumiko found Naomi's body. That's about it."

"Alright. That's all I needed." Takara said. She paused for a moment and thought about everything she heard. She couldn't help but feel that something was strange about all this. "Say, you feeling okay there, Shizuka? It might just be me, but you don't seem to be acting like yourself."

"I'm fine, just a little tired still." Shizuka said. "That and the stress from finding the bodies is just putting a lot on me. Don't worry about me though, go on and finish investigating before the trial begins."

"Alright, if you say so." Takara said. She grabbed the file sitting on the desk. The label on it read "The Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind". Whatever it was, it seemed pretty serious. She stuffed it in her bag and made her way towards Shigeru's room. She opened the door and found nothing out of the ordinary once again. Sitting on the desk were two more files and a room key. It had to be Shigeru's key, but how did it end up here? What reason would the culprit have for taking the key and leaving it there? She'd have to think about it later, time was running out. She picked up the folders, not even bothering to look at the names, and put them in her bag as well. Figuring she found everything of importance there, she decided to make her way to the Shopping District.

Walking down the line of stores, she thought about where Ryouta and Satoshi might be. The former was probably checking the shed at the botanical garden, but she had no idea where the latter could be. Thankfully though, she managed to see Satoshi leaving...the laundromat? What the hell was he doing there at a time like this?! "Oh, hi Kara-chan! How's the investigation coming?" he asked, seeing her coming up to him.

"I'm almost done, I hope." Takara said. "What were you doing in there?"

"I thought I heard something strange in there, but it was only a dryer running." Satoshi explained. "Someone was probably doing laundry before the bodies were found. I checked it out just to be safe, but it didn't look like it would hold any clues."

"Why'd you have to check it exactly?" Takara asked.

"Well, laundry has been important the past two times, so I figured I should at least make sure to see if it is this time." Satoshi said. "Anyway, I should let that person know their clothes are dry."

"Wait, I need to ask you something!" Takara said. "There was a shovel with blood on it at the scene of the crime. I'm just trying to consider all possibilities here, so don't take it personally, but is it yours by any chance?"

"What?! No way! All my shovels are either back home, or still in my luggage!" Satoshi said, shocked that he was being asked such a question. "Are you insinuating I killed them or something?"

"No, I'm just trying to assure that you're _not_ the culprit!" Takara said. "No one is proven to be guilty or innocent yet anyway. I just needed to know for sure, that's all."

Satoshi stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Alright, I'll believe you on this." he said. "I'll see you later." He walked away in the direction of the hotel.

"Shit, I hope he's not upset with me." Takara said. She made her way to the botanical garden. She walked through it until she found the shed. She went inside, finding Ryouta examining the equipment thoroughly. "What's got you so focused?" she asked.

"YAAAAHHH!" Ryouta screamed, flinching in fear. He looked behind him only to find Takara there. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said.

"Sorry, it was an accident." Takara said. "Anyway, mind telling me if you know what's with the shovel at the crime scene?"

"If you're implying that I put it there, then you're horribly wrong!" Ryouta insisted. "In fact, I came here to see if any of the shovels were missing in the first place!"

"So what's the verdict on that?" Takara asked.

"There's normally five shovels in this shed." Ryouta explained. "But after looking through everything here, I can tell you that one of them is definitely missing. I even looked under things to be sure it wasn't misplaced. So yeah, it's safe to say that the shovel at the crime scene came from here."

"Thanks, that's all I needed. Carry on with...whatever, I guess." Takara said. That settled it, the shovel came from the botanical garden. But who took it from there, and why bring it to the karaoke bar? She rushed over to the karaoke bar, Minoru must've been done with his search of Naomi's body by now.

She entered the building, finding Minoru by the dead translator. "Ah, you've returned." he said with a smile.

"Yep, and I found Shigeru's key in his room." Takara said. "How're things on your end?"

"Naomi's missing her key as well." Minoru said. "It was probably in her room if Shigeru's key was in his. Also, the messy state of their bodies might be from the fact that the culprit was looking for their keys."

"Really? It's not from being attacked?" Takara asked.

"Well, it is, but only partially." Minoru said. "The bodies were definitely searched though, the missing keys make that obvious."

"Anything else of interest you found?" Takara asked.

"Not me, but I think Masaru found something in the booth." Minoru said, pointing at where Shigeru's body was. "You should go talk to him."

"Got it." Takara said. She walked into the booth and found Masaru covering his mouth and nose with his hand. What the hell was he doing? Sure, it smelled strange in there, but it wasn't that bad. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"I came in to make sure Arata wasn't doing anything, and the instant I step inside my nostrils pick up a horrible stench!" Masaru explained. "And no, it's not the body, although that doesn't smell pleasant either."

"Where's it coming from?" Takara asked. Masaru pointed towards a corner of the room where a trash can was. Seriously? The smell of the trash was bothering him? "Oh come on, it's just garbage."

"Look inside it though. You'll see what I mean." Masaru said. Shrugging, Takara walked over to the trash can and noticed the smell was getting stronger. She looked inside, regretting it instantly. It was filled with a brown and red substance that looked both solid and liquidish at the same time. The smell was a multitude of food mixed together. There was no doubt about it, someone had thrown up in this trash can.

"Oh god, I'm gonna be sick." Takara said as she walked away from the trash.

"You see? It's not just garbage!" Masaru said. "Someone threw up in there!"

"Where did it come from though? It couldn't have been the victims could it?" Takara asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care. I just want to stay away from it." Masaru said.

Judging from the brief look she got, it had to have happened recently. It was possible that it even happened around the time of the murders. But was there a way she could figure things out for sure? Before she could think much further, the monitors turned on and showed Monokuma's irritating perpetual grin. "You know, even if I gave you all the time in the world, it probably wouldn't be enough." he said. "But who knows, you could always surprise me with the results. Either way, I think it's time we began the Class Trial now, don't you? Proceed down the path behind the hotel and report to the mountain, okay?" The monitor shut off.

Great, even with all this time Takara felt no closer than she was before! Then again, she could always figure things out at the trial itself. She made her way over to the hotel and took the back path. Entering the clearing, she saw most of the other students already there. She thought she would be the last one, but one person was still missing. Before she had the chance to ask, a voice came from the pathway. "I'm here, I'm here! I'm not late, wait up!" Shizuka ran into the clearing, nearly tripping as she stopped. "Whew, Monokuma's not here yet."

"What took ya, Matsuki? Ya ain't da kinda person who's late." Kazumi said.

"Nothing, I just needed to get one last thing done before the trial started." Shizuka answered.

"...You're wearing your scarf now." Miyako said.

"Yep, everything's been so crazy that it almost slipped my mind." Shizuka replied.

"You got it on kinda weirdly though." Kumiko pointed out. "I think it's on backwards."

"Hey, I was in a hurry. Can you really blame me?" Shizuka said.

"Blah blah blah, you kids always manage to talk about the most pointless subjects!" Monokuma said. "Who cares about a stupid old scarf and how she's wearing it?! You should be focusing on the trial! Let me tell ya, this one's gonna be a doozy! No matter how it turns out, I'm sure the end will leave people stunned!"

"It's not stupid though." Shizuka mumbled, though it didn't sound like she cared what he was saying.

"In fact, there's no reason to stall it any longer! Head on into the cave and step onto the platform! I'll be waiting..." Monokuma said before vanishing once more.

"You heard him, we might as well get it over with already." Ryouta said.

"Let's go then." Minoru said.

The ten of them entered the cave and headed towards the platform. Ten of them would go in, nine would come out. At least if they managed to discover the culprit. One of them would never be seen again, and with the heavy air surrounding them no one wanted to assume who it was. Stepping onto the platform, Shizuka was the one who pushed the button that would lead them to a student's demise.

Two murders were committed instead of one, Shigeru and Naomi were both dead. Shigeru had managed to make more enemies than allies, and the way Naomi had changed didn't leave her with many friends. Anyone could have ended their lives. The only question left was who? And why kill two people instead of one? Takara still couldn't help but think something about this case was strange in some way. The platform reached the docking station and stopped, allowing the remaining students to go to the doors. Takara thought she heard someone muttering under their breath, but she couldn't make out who it was. Hesitating just slightly, she opened the doors so everyone could enter. Allowing the curtains of the third trial of life and death to swing open.

**10 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	27. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Class Trial I

The ten students noticed that the courtroom had changed once again as they entered. Monokuma must be changing it every time they have a new trial. The walls were painted with reds and pinks in a stripe pattern, as small paper hearts were hanging from the ceiling by strings. The floor was covered in a plush carpet. Tall, orange pillars stood by the walls. The big screen sitting overhead of Monokuma's throne now had lights surrounding it. It seemed like he was trying to make the courtroom look like some crappy romance game show. Clearly this was his sick idea of a joke, but no one was laughing.

"There you are! I was wondering when you would show your faces!" Monokuma said with glee. "Man, you're all starting to drop like flies around here, aren't ya?"

"Shut up!" Ryouta said. "Let's just get this over with already!"

"Fine, fine." Monokuma said. "But before you take your places, do take off your shoes. I wouldn't want this lovely little carpet to be ruined by all the dirt you bastards track!" Doing as he asked, everyone removed their shoes and left them at the entrance. They walked towards their places at the podium, where three new photographs had joined them. In between Ryouta and Kazumi was Ayame's photo, which like Kaito's had a custom X made to look like spiky cleats. Then there were the photos of the two victims. Shigeru, who was placed next to Miyako and Hikaru's photograph, and Naomi, who was placed between Kumiko and Masaru. Three different people were now surrounded by photographs on either side. It was unsettling to notice, especially since one more would be added after this trial. "If you're all comfortable, then you can begin!" Monokuma announced.

"Well, normally this is where we review the facts of the investigation, but Shigeru's not here to do that anymore." Masaru pointed out. "So should we still even do it?"

"We might as well." Shizuka said. "There's no reason not to."

"Who should do it then?" Arata asked.

"Oooooo! I can do it! I have an amazingly good memory, ya know!" Kumiko said.

"Alright then, fire away, Kumiko." Satoshi instructed.

"Okay! So the victims were Naomi Williams and Shigeru Kitagawa." Kumiko began, trying to imitate the late composer. "They both died around 9:30 last night and were found in the karaoke bar. Cause of death for both of them was a blow to the head, but they were each killed with a different weapon. Nyaomi had no extra wounds, but Gerugu was stabbed in the leg before he was killed. And thaaaaaat's it!"

"So where should we go from here?" Minoru asked.

"How about we try to determine what the two weapons were?" Shizuka suggested.

"I think we can determine that Naomi was killed by a shovel." Takara said, glad for once that a trial wasn't starting with someone being blamed. "There was one lying right out in the open next to her body, and it was covered in blood."

"Where did the shovel come from though?" Miyako asked. "Shovels can't do karaoke."

"Someone brought it there of course." Arata replied, trying to ignore the last comment. "But we still need to determine where it was brought from."

"Maybe Toshi can tell us! He digs up stuff all the time!" Kumiko suggested. "Surely he'd know where to find a shovel!"

"For all we know, he's da one who brought it dere in da first place!" Kazumi said.

"Huh?! I didn't do it!" Satoshi insisted.

"A likely fuckin' story, Teruya." Kazumi said. "We don' got any proof dat it ain't yours."

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "There _is_ evidence that proves it's not his. Isn't that right, Ryouta?"

"W-why are you asking me?!" Ryouta said.

"Because you told me so yourself, a shovel in the garden's shed was missing." Takara said, reminding the neurotic florist.

"Oh, right." Ryouta said. "Yeah, one of the five shovels was missing in the the tool shed of the botanical garden. I searched that place top to bottom, so it wasn't misplaced. And I know that shed off the back of my hand which means I know everything about it!"

"Which means Teruya didn't kill her." Arata deduced. "After all, he must have his own shovel. He'd probably use his instead of one from the garden."

"Wait a second!" Minoru shouted out. "Sorry, I'm not the type to usually do this but just because the shovel isn't Satoshi's doesn't mean he didn't do it."

"Holy shit, Yoshihara's got balls after all!" Kazumi said.

"Minoru, why would you say that?" Satoshi asked.

"I'm really sorry, I don't want to think you did it but it's clearly faulty thinking." Minoru insisted. "Because really, why would he use his own shovel if he wanted to kill someone? It'd be too obvious! If he took a shovel from the tool shed, he could easily claim he had nothing to do with it."

He had a point. Takara doubted someone like Satoshi would kill someone, but she couldn't just say that Satoshi not owning the shovel absolved him of guilt. There had to be a way to fix this. "Satoshi, have you ever been to the tool shed before the murder took place?" she asked. It was a long shot, but it was the only way she could get Satoshi's innocence.

"I didn't even know there were shovels in there." Satoshi claimed. "I never went to the gardens before."

"Can you prove this claim?" Arata asked. "Anyone can say that they've never been somewhere, but backing it up is another story."

"Maybe we could ask Teddie!" Kumiko said, leaning forward. "He's always viewing us on those weirdo cameras, right? So he could prove if Toshi is lying or not!"

"Sorry kiddo, I don't give that kind of info to just anybody!" Monokuma said as he relaxed in his throne. "And unfortunately for you, you _are_ just anybody!"

"Maybe we don't need Monokuma." Shizuka said. "Someone else could easily provide the truth."

Someone else? But who else would know if Satoshi had been to the gardens or not? They'd have to have visited there constantly and would know if anyone came and went. Wait a second, of course! "Ryouta, perhaps you can help."

"Huh?! Me again?!" Ryouta asked as he flinched. "Why do you keep bothering me?!"

"Because you said so yourself, you know that shed top to bottom." Takara explained. "Since you've been there so often, and since the gardens aren't that large, surely you'd know if Satoshi had been there before."

"Oh yeah, I didn' think 'bout dat." Kazumi said. "Oi, Hoshino, spill it out! Did Teruya go dere or not?"

"W-well...no. Not that I can recall." Ryouta said. "In fact, I've never seen Satoshi anywhere near the gardens! And I'd notice if someone was sneaking out a shovel!"

"That settles it, Satoshi is innocent." Takara said.

"But what about Hoshino?" Arata asked. "He knows everything about that tool shed, so it's safe to say that he'd be able to sneak out with a shovel himself, am I wrong?"

"Hey, don't lump me in with the likes of you!" Ryouta shouted, pointing his finger at the designer.

"No, I doubt it." Shizuka said. "Not to be rude or anything, but Ryouta's not exactly the strongest person here. And the shovels themselves, well you'd need some muscle to be whacking someone in the head with it for it to be fatal. So it couldn't possibly be him what with how skinny he is."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that last part." Ryouta sneered.

"So there's no way to prove who took the weapon." Masaru said.

"I'm just glad that I'm wrong!" Minoru said with a nervous laugh. "It'd be a shame to see Satoshi executed!"

"Kay, so how 'bout Kitagawa?" Kazumi asked. "Dere wasn' anythin' dat looked like a fuckin' weapon in dere."

"Perhaps it's because the killer used something that could fit in with the room." Arata suggested. "Something that could easily be hidden in plain sight and blend in."

"But was there anything like that there?" Miyako asked.

"There had to have been." Shizuka said. "I doubt they'd hide just one weapon while leaving the other to be easily found."

"That's just sloppy work after all!" Minoru said with a grin.

"Yoshihara, yer too cheerful considerin' ya were one of us who found da bodies." Kazumi said. "Stop smilin' so damn much an' stay focused!"

"Oh right, sorry." Minoru said, his smile instantly turning into a frown.

"He went back to having no backbone." Satoshi said.

"What if they used a bottle as a weapon?" Takara asked.

"A bottle?" Kazumi said. "How could dat work? Wouldn' it jus' break?"

"Nope! Bottles don't break so easily like they do in the movies." Kumiko said. "Especially if it's filled up with something like a liquid! Gerugu's head could've eeeeasily been whacked with a bottle."

"It would be an inconspicuous weapon." Minoru said. "There's certainly plenty in the karaoke bar. What with all the alcoholic drinks in there."

"There were bottles in the booth Shigeru was found dead in." Takara said. "So they're the only things in the room that could be the weapon."

"But why would there be alcoholic drinks sitting around?" Arata asked. "None of us are old enough to drink."

"It could've been left in there from whoever used the booth last." Satoshi suggested. "Even though we're alone here, this place has to have been used before."

"Or maybe someone left it there on purpose." Shizuka said, not so subtlety glancing at Monokuma.

"Hey! I'll have you know that consumption of alcohol is not allowed in my vacation!" The bear shouted, standing up in the throne and stomping his foot. "Murder's one thing, but I can't just have you getting hammered like that! I'd be a disgrace to Hope's Peak Academy's very name!"

"And you left all the wine in the karaoke bar, why?" Masaru asked.

"Well where else am I gonna put all of that stuff?!" Monokuma asked.

"The other possibility is that the culprit grabbed a bottle from the drink storage and brought it back to the booth." Arata said. "Then to mask their crime, they placed a few other bottles in there to make it harder to find."

"I think the latter is more likely." Takara said. "Nothing else was left in that booth aside from those bottles. So for them alone to be left behind seems questionable."

"But how can we even tell that a bottle was the weapon?" Ryouta asked. "It's not like there's something special on the bottle to reveal that."

"Actually, there's something I managed to spot on one of them." Takara said. "It was pretty easy to miss if you weren't paying attention. I'm lucky I managed to see it in the first place."

"Oh, you mean the crack on the bottom don't you?" Shizuka asked. "I saw that too!"

"A crack?! Seriously?! _That's_ how you know it's the weapon?!" Ryouta asked. "That's ridiculous!"

"The spot where the crack was also happened to be covered with blood." Takara pointed out. "So there's that to take into consideration."

"Ridiculous or not, it's still out best bet." Satoshi said. "So that takes care of the weapons, right?"

"Not so fast, I think there's one more thing we're missing here." Arata stated.

"Huh? But we found both weapons! What else is there?" Masaru asked.

"How about the wound on Kitagawa's leg?" Arata asked. "What caused that? The shovel and bottle seem unlikely candidates. Until we figure that out, we're not done just yet."

"True, it did look like he was punctured with small stab wounds." Minoru said. "They were a lot smaller than Chiyo's stab wounds, and it looked too symmetrical to have been an ordinary weapon."

"I didn't see anything in the booth that could've done it though!" Kumiko said. "There was only bottles and bottles and bottles!"

"What if it wasn't in the booth though?" Shizuka asked. "Wasn't there something by Naomi's body that could be a possibility?" 

"I didn' see nothin'." Kazumi said.

"Actually, I believe there's something that could fit the description." Takara said. "There were broken shards and part of a bottle, so that could be what we're looking for. There was also a piece of the bottle that wasn't with the others, the opening of the bottle. It looked pretty sharp enough to cause some minor stab wounds."

"...It was near Williams, you say?" Arata asked.

"Dat's what she said, ain't it?" Kazumi said. "Ya need ta have yer ears checked, Miyazaki!"

The designer stood in thought for a moment. "Monokuma, I have a question I need to ask of you." Arata said. "I know we've already discussed how an accomplice gains nothing from helping a murder, but what if there were two separate murderers working independently of each other?"

"Wait, why would you think there's two murders?" Shizuka asked.

"You'll see in a moment, let me see what our 'headmaster' has to say." Arata replied.

"Ehhhhh, if there are two murderers involved then you'd need to guess them both." Monokuma explained. "Simple as that."

"What if one culprit was killed by the second one?" Arata asked.

"Well, if one murderer was killed by the other, you'd only need to guess who the living one is to pass the trial." Monokuma said. "It's kinda complicated, but it's all quite possible!"

"I see, so there are two murderers then?" Arata asked. "And one of them is also a victim?"

"Gah!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Well, um, I suppose depending on the way you look at it then yes. There are technically two murderers."

"The way you look at it?" Miyako asked.

"Sorry, my lips are sealed! You'll have to figure that one out on your own!" Monokuma said. "Let's just say that technicalities may make it so that only one culprit exists in this case! Though depending on how you look at it, there could be two!"

"Um, is anyone else getting confused by all that?" Minoru asked.

"That's fine. I got the answer I needed out of you anyway." Arata said with a smirk.

"Just what are you getting at?" Ryouta asked.

"It's simple. I believe Williams stabbed Kitagawa in the leg with the broken bottle, then killed him using one of the drink bottles." Arata explained. "Then our culprit came in and killed her using the shovel."

"Whaaaaaat?! But Nyaomi and Gerugu were sooooo close!" Kumiko said. "Even after she turned into a bluh bluh huge bitch!"

"She turned into a what now?" Shizuka asked.

"Don't you remember us going over this back in Chiyo's case?" Ryouta said. "She could've been pretending to stick so close to him only to stab him in the back when she didn't need him anymore!"

"And don;t you remember how I turned out to be completely innocent?" Kumiko responded.

"I could see how you came to that conclusion, Arata." Satoshi said. "But I think you may have it the wrong way around."

"And why's that?" Arata asked.

"Well, it's true that we don't know the order that they died in, but that doesn't mean Naomi was Shigeru's killer. Plus, remember what Monokuma said just a moment ago?" Satoshi asked.

"Dependin' on how we look at it, dere are two different killers." Kazumi said, repeating what the bear had said before.

"Plus, the broken bottle was right next to her body, you stupid pervert!" Kumiko said. "Why'd she need it after stabbing his leg?"

"No matter how you look at things, the fact that the bottle shards were next to her body and nowhere near Shigeru is pretty suspicious." Takara said. "And there was no reason for it to be moved there either."

"That probably means that there was a third party all along." Shizuka said. "The culprit of course. This third party may have been the true target of a murder, but either Shigeru or Naomi was killed instead."

"If that's the case, it would explain the state of the karaoke bar." Masaru added. "If three people were there from the beginning, there must've been some kind of struggle."

"Considering the weapons and locations we've discussed," Ryouta continued. "I think it's safe to say that Naomi was killed first in this scenario. Shigeru was aiming for the culprit, but somehow hit Naomi instead."

"But how could the way we look at things change who the culprit is?" Masaru asked.

"What if the cluprit had dodged Shigeru's attack?" Takara asked.

"You mean they had a high evasion stat?!? Kumiko asked.

"Well, that only holds true if Naomi had been standing behind the culprit." Takara said. "If that's the case, then in trying to aim for the culprit Shigeru hit Naomi in the head when they dodged him."

"So then where does the broken bottle come into play here?!" Ryouta asked. "Was it Naomi who used it, or the killer?!"

"It depends if she died instantly or not, I'd guess." Miyako stated.

"But do we got any evidence ta clarify dat?" Kazumi asked.

"Um, what about that message left in blood near her body?" Masaru asked.

"You don't mean a dying message, do you?" Satoshi asked.

"I think so." Masaru said.

"Huh? What's a 'flying tensei key'?" Kumiko asked.

"No Kumiko, a 'dying message'." Minoru said. "It's when a victim leaves behind a clue as they lay dying. Usually they're supposed to lead to the identity of the killer."

"Ohhhhhh, those thingies!" Kumiko said. "My ears must be filled up with something!"

"The killers identity? What did it say?" Shizuka asked.

"I'm...not sure." Masaru admitted. "It's not in Japanese or English, and I don't know any other foreign languages."

"If Williams did write that message, she would probably write it in a language that the culprit didn't understand." Arata suggested. "Could you tell what language it was written it, by any chance?"

"Let's see... I think it was French?" Masaru said. "I know a little bit of the language due to being a patisserie, but not enough to fluently speak it."

"Well, what did the dying message say?" Arata asked. "I happen to know French and could probably figure it out."

"A fashion designer that knows French? Isn't that a stereotype?" Minoru asked.

"That doesn't matter right now, you idiot!" Ryouta shouted.

"Hahahaha, I guess you're right! My bad!" Minoru said.

"What is wrong with him?" Ryouta asked himself.

"It said 'peintre', that's all." Masaru said.

"She didn' die right away, but she probably didn' have enough time ta write anythin' complex." Kazumi said.

"Still though, 'peintre'? What does that even mean?" Takara asked.

"...I see. That's interesting." Arata said, looking like he understood something.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Ryouta sarcastically asked.

"No. I believe that it can wait." Arata said smugly. "If I said anything now, you wouldn't believe me. Let's move on."

"So if she had time to write out that dying message, maybe she had time to stab Gerugu?" Kumiko suggested.

"Considering her recent attitude, she probably thought he hit her on purpose." Takara said. "So she wanted to get revenge on him, and stabbed him with the broken bottle."

"That incapacitated him, allowing the killer to make their move." Minoru added. "They cornered him in one of the booths and killed him.

"And in her final moments, she wrote out that dying message." Satoshi said. "Writing it in French so the culprit wouldn't understand it."

"Kay, so who here doesn' know French?" Kazumi asked.

"I think most of us don't know it, Kazumi." Shizuka said.

"Oh, yeah. Right." Kazumi said.

"So we've established the weapons and order in which they were killed, but what was the culprit doing at the karaoke bar?" Ryouta asked.

"Maybe it's like last time?" Kumiko asked. "You know, they were called out there to be killed or something?"

"I don't think either Naomi or Shigeru would rehash that." Takara said. "It would be too obvious. If there's one nice thing I could say about Shigeru, it's that he wouldn't try something so stupid, especially since it didn't work the last time."

"Besides, there's nothing to suggest they were called out there in the first place." Shizuka said. "There was no kind of letter, and I doubt the culprit was personally approached by either of them since they kept their distance from us."

"Couldn't a letter have been hiding in the trash though?" Satoshi asked.

"If there was, no one was gonna check it." Masaru said. "Not with all that vomit."

"Someone threw up in the trash can?!" Kumiko asked.

"Yes, and it was gross. Let's not talk about it anymore." Masaru said, looking like he would start throwing up again.

"There's one thing I don't understand about all this." Minoru said. "We didn't see Naomi's body straight away because it was covered up by a curtain. But why was the curtain there in the first place? It doesn't make sense to hide one body but not bother with anything else."

"Dat does seem kinda strange." Kazumi said. "Who would fuckin' do dat an' why?"

"Maybe it was so Kitagawa's body would be discovered first." Arata suggested. "If Williams' body was found straight away, we wouldn't even think of going into the booth were he was."

"But how would we have even known where his body was?!" Ryouta asked. "There's a number of booths in that stupid karaoke bar! It's amazing his body was found in the first place! How else would someone know to check _that_ specific booth in order to find the body?!"

"Considering how much of a mess the whole place was, I'm pretty sure whoever went there would be checking everywhere in that place to be certain the worst hadn't happened." Minoru said.

"...Actually, I think I know how." Takara said. She didn't want to believe it, but there was no other option. "Someone in the group that found the body already knew it was there."

"Wait a minute, you mean the culprit is one of us?!" Kumiko asked.

"The group that found the bodies was comprised of you, Minoru, Kazumi, and Shizuka." Miyako said.

"Hold on a second, why do you think it was one of them, Kara-chan?" Satoshi asked.

"Well think about it, there's no guarantee someone would've entered the karaoke bar by chance today. So the culprit decided to gather up enough people to set off the body discovery announcement so Shigeru and Naomi would be found." Takara explained.

"But who was it?" Masaru asked.

"I'll bet it's Kazumi!" Ryouta said. "Her and Shigeru were always going at each other, and the karaoke bar would be the perfect place for her to kill someone!"

"Oi, Hoshino. Ya wanna get punched in da face or da balls?" Kazumi asked.

"Kazumi, please! We're in the middle of a trial!" Shizuka said. "Besides, it couldn't be Kazumi because-"

"I know you want to trust her since you're best friends, but you can't be defending someone for a reason like that." Minoru said. "It's not professional."

"Well then how else do we figure this big old mess?" Kumiko asked.

"There's no need to figure it out." Takara said. "I know exactly who the culprit is. That same person has been acting strange all morning long."

"Have you come to the same realization as I have, Tsukuda?" Arata asked.

"I think I have, and I don't want to believe it." Takara said, letting out a sigh and looking down at her feet. She really didn't want to say this, but there wasn't any other possibility. All the clues lead to this one path. "But if I'm right about all this, then it had to have been..."

"Aw come on, jus' say it already!" Kazumi shouted, getting impatient.

"It was...Shizuka Matsuki." Takara said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'm killing off my favorite!
> 
> I hate this chapter.


	28. Chapter 3 - Shedding Personas - Class Trial II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt I should upload this now and be done with it.

"Huh? Me?" Shizuka asked in what sounded like an unfazed tone, her eyes blinking. One would think she'd be a bit more concerned when being accused of murder.

"Whaaaaaaat? You think Shizu did it?" Kumiko asked. "But she wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"Yeah, what da fuck are ya playin' at, Tsukuda?!" Kazumi shouted. "Seriously, you're sayin' Matsuki did this?! Dat's fuckin' crazy! She couldn' hurt a fly, let alone Kitagawa or Naomi!"

"I know you don't want to believe it Kazumi, but think about her behavior this morning." Takara said, unable to look at the green-haired vocalist. "Then you'll see what I mean."

"Da fuck are ya talkin' 'bout?!" Kazumi shouted. "Matsuki's behavior was weird? I dunno where ya got dat bullshit from!"

"Actually, now that I think about it, there was something kinda strange about the body discovery." Minoru said. "Wasn't she the one who suggested we go to karaoke in the first place?"

"Dat's probably just coincidence!" Kazumi insisted. "It don' mean nothin'!"

"What about the way she was acting when the bodies were found though?" Arata asked. "Surely something was suspicious then?"

"Dere ain't no way she was actin' weird when we found da bodies!" Kazumi said. "She was jus' as freaked out as da rest'a us! She wouldn' act fer da sake of lookin' innocent!"

"Actually, there was something different about her at the time." Minoru said. "There's a specific behavior that she has around dead bodies that she didn't show this time. I didn't think about it much before because of the shock, but now that it's been brought up..."

"You mean her nausea, don't you?" Takara asked.

"What does dat have ta do with anythin'?!" Kazumi asked.

"She told me so herself during the first investigation." Takara said. "She always gets nauseous when she sees a dead body, but after a while she feels fine enough to be near one."

"Did she seem sick when she saw the bodies this time?" Masaru asked.

"Nope. She seemed fine." Kumiko answered.

"Which seems odd considering that there were _two_ bodies this time around." Arata said. "If she could get nauseous just from one body, then two bodies would probably make it worse. Granted, I can't say I fully understand how it works, but if it were me I'd likely throw up at the sight of two bodies."

"So the vomit in that trash can..." Ryouta said, unable to finish his sentence.

"Must belong to Shizuka." Minoru finished.

"Dat don' mean she did it!" Kazumi shouted. "She coulda come across da bodies by accident and blew chunks then! It don' mean she killed either of 'em!"

"She does have a point there." Satoshi said. "The bodies weren't discovered until around noon or so, right? It wouldn't be strange if she'd come across the bodies between the time of death and then."

"Satoshi please, if she'd discovered the bodies earlier she'd have told someone." Takara said. "Even if the shock of finding the bodies required her to lay down after vomiting, she'd go find someone and tell them about it."

"Katsuya, was there any point in time this morning that Matsuki separated from you?" Arata asked, staring at the increasingly angry vocalist.

"I don' fuckin' know! I ain't her damn keeper!" Kazumi shouted. "She can do whateva' da shit she wants without me!"

"Um, I was minding my own business for an hour before the body discovery," Shizuka spoke up. "But I-"

"Dere, ya see? She had plenty of time ta find 'em an' not tell anyone!" Kazumi said, interrupting the painter who looked like she wanted to say something.

"Then what about her behavior during the investigation?" Takara asked. "Why would someone so detail-oriented like Shizuka, who examined the previous crime scenes throughly, not even bother to look for evidence at the scene of the crime? Especially when she's done so the other two times?"

"She must'a found all da evidence she needed when she found da bodies in da first place!" Kazumi said.

"If she managed to feel sick and threw up, I doubt she'd stay there and look around." Satoshi said. "She'd need a lot of time away from the bodies to be anywhere near them later. She likely wouldn't be able to stay there for very long to look for any evidence."

"Den she found it when we were dere waitin' for da rest'a ya!" Kazumi countered.

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "I asked all of you what happened when the bodies were found, including what happened when you were waiting. And Minoru told me that you all left the place alone until we came. She had no time to gather evidence without us knowing."

"And even if she was innocent like you claim, surely not investigating with the rest of us would be bound to raise suspicions." Arata added.

"None of dis is good evidence! Not a single fuckin' bit!" Kazumi shouted, slamming her fist on the podium. "Yer all jus' gangin' up on her fer no good reason! I want real proof dat says she did it! Otherwise, yer all full of shit!"

"There is one more thing I can think of." Satoshi said. "Something that was off about Shizuka this morning and was easily noticeable. Surely you know what I'm talking about, Kara-chan?"

"Yes, I do." Takara said. "You're talking about her scarf, right?"

"Da fuck does her goddamn scarf got anythin' ta do with dis?!" Kazumi asked. "Now you're jus' tryin' ta bulllshit your way through dis!"

"Her scarf was missing from her this morning." Satoshi said. "Aside from the pool party, there hasn't been a single instance where she's gone without it. She always wears it, even in this warm weather. Surely, that comes off as suspicious to even you. I also happened to find a dryer running during the investigation. The only clothes that were there were Shizuka's. And when I looked at those clothes, I saw her scarf."

"Shut da fuck up, Teruya! Dere's probably a good reason she wasn' wearin' it!" Kazumi insisted. "You'll see! Matsuki'll shut ya up right now! She'll tell ya why yer all-"

"Kazumi, that's enough." Shizuka said in a loud but calm voice that almost sounded empty. Everyone turned to look at her, seeing a sad smile on her face. "I know you mean well, but it's not necessary."

"...Matsuki?" Kazumi said.

"They're completely right." Shizuka said. She moved her scarf so it appeared the way she usually wore it. The only difference this time was the easily noticeable bloodstain on it. "I am the blackened."

"...What?" Kazumi said, unable to take her words at face value. It looked like tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"You're pretty willing to admit to your crime." Arata said. "Why's that?"

"I have nothing to hide, that's all." Shizuka said. "I'm the one who killed them, it's simple as that. I have to ask, how did you figure it out, Arata?"

"Williams' dying message." Arata answered. "I know a great deal of French, you see, and 'peintre' just so happens to mean 'painter'. It was simple to connect the dots from there."

"Shizu really is the culprit?!" Kumiko asked in shock. "But why would you kill them? Sure, Gerugu isn't very nice, and Nyaomi kinda turned into a bitch, but that's no reason to kill them!"

"Naomi's words yesterday did seem to strike a nerve with her." Miyako said. "That might have something to do with it."

"Perhaps it was the motive." Ryouta suggested. "The return of these supposed 'missing memories' was bound to entice someone."

"Like hell she'd do it for dat!" Kazumi shouted, her tone turning hysterical. "Matsuki would never stoop so fuckin' low! An' as for Naomi an' her bullshit, dat ain't enough ta make her do dat! Unlike some people she has some fuckin' decency!"

"Kazumi, please. That's enough. I can speak for myself." Shizuka said. "My reasons have nothing to do with what Naomi said to me the other day, or the motive Monokuma presented. Though I will admit that I thought about all of it after it was done, those missing memories did make me feel curious. But I decided it wasn't worth it."

"Then why did you do it?" Takara asked. "Why would you kill not one, but both of them?"

"I did it to save all of you from being murdered." Shizuka explained, her gaze turning serious. "I'm not sure if they were driven by the motive, or some other cause, but Shigeru and Naomi were going to commit a double murder."

"Wait, seriously?!" Minoru asked. "I mean, I guess I can see Shigeru doing that kind of thing, but Naomi?!"

"How do we know you aren't lying?" Arata asked, his hand resting against his chin in thought.

"I've already admitted that I'm the culprit, and I haven't fought back against the claims. What reason would I have to lie now?" Shizuka asked. Takara stood there for a moment, unable to think of an answer to her question.

"So you...killed them instead?" Masaru asked.

"Believe me, I didn't want to." Shizuka said. "I overheard their plan and wanted to try to talk them out of it, but then they attacked me. They must have thought I was going to tell someone. They chased me throughout the karaoke bar, leading to the mess the place was left in. I was scared for my life, I didn't want to die there. Naomi eventually managed to get a hold of me. I couldn't run away, even though the door was merely feet away. Shigeru tried to crack my skull open with that shovel, but I ducked and survived. Unfortunately, Naomi got hit instead. I don't remember much of what happened after that, I'm afraid. All I can remember was Shigeru saying something that drove me past the breaking point. Because I took a bottle and then..."

"...Matsuki." Kazumi said, tears finally starting to fall from her face.

"When I came too, I saw Shigeru's body lying there in the booth. I realized what I did and what that meant." Shizuka said with a sad smile. "I knew that if I graduated, you would all be executed and my efforts would be in vain. So I let you discover it was me. I wanted you to vote for me as the blackened. If I was going to die, I'd die sacrificing myself for all of you, my precious friends."

"What about the room keys they were missing?" Takara asked. "Why'd you take those from them?"

"Those things I told you about weren't in their rooms, they were in the karaoke bar." Shizuka said. "I looked at them and learned about some...terrible things. I didn't want them to be left there in the open, so I took their keys and returned them to their rooms. Then I would tell you about them so you could look at them later."

"So that's why their bodies were such a mess." Minoru said.

"Yeah. Though the scuffle with me did do some of that." Shizuka said.

"Wait a minute! When Teddie said that there could be two killers, did he mean..." Kumiko began to ask.

"By all technicalities, Shigeru murdered Naomi." Monokuma said. "But Naomi only died because Shizuka tried to duck. She knew where the shovel would hit if she did that, so you could also say she killed both of them!"

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT BEAR!" Kazumi screamed. "DIS ISN' FAIR! I CAN'T BELIEVE MATSUKI'D EVA DO SOMETHIN' LIKE DIS! SHE SHOULDN' HAFTA DIE!"

"Kazumi... I'm sorry..." Shizuka said, unable to look her best friend in the face.

"...I think we can wrap up this case now. Wouldn't you say?" Satoshi said solemnly.

"Yeah, let's finish this up." Takara said. "Shigeru and Naomi, driven by reasons we don't know, decided to plan a double murder. They would each kill someone with the idea that they could both graduate together. But someone else was listening to their conversation. They didn't want to see anyone else get murdered, so they attempted to talk them out of it. But upon seeing them, Shigeru and Naomi assumed that they were going to tell the others of their plan. So they decided to silence them permanently. After chasing them through the building, Naomi grabbed hold of them so Shigeru could kill them with the shovel. But they avoided the swing, causing Naomi to be killed instead.

"Shigeru kept swinging in the hopes that he'd kill them, unaffected by Naomi. He also tried to torment them in his last moments of triumph. But Naomi wasn't dead yet. In her last moments of life, she took a broken bottle from the floor and stabbed him in the leg, possibly getting revenge on him. Then, she used what little strength there was left to write a dying message, revealing the identity of the culprit. But to keep it from being easily discovered, she wrote it in French.

"Shigeru tried to retreat to one of the booths in the karaoke bar, unaware that the person he tried to kill had followed them. They took a bottle and swung it over his head multiple times, killing him in return. However, the culprit realized what they had done and couldn't handle it. Due to the nausea they got around corpses, they couldn't handle the sight of two bodies and threw up in a trash can. Once they regained their composure, they realized that they couldn't graduate. By doing so, it would mean everything they did would be useless as the rest of us would die instead. So they decided to let us know of their crime.

"They didn't bother to modify the crime scene or hide any of the evidence. They did however cover Naomi's body with a curtain so Shigeru could be found first. Then, they removed a particular piece of clothing, one they always wore and had been stained with blood and put it in the laundromat with their other clothes. Surely someone would notice such a thing. Then, after the breakfast meeting, they took Kazumi, Minoru, and Kumiko to the karaoke bar so the bodies would be discovered. Finally, instead of staying to investigate the crime scene, they purposefully left to go somewhere else. This would be in order to draw attention to themselves and make them come off as suspicious. Their goal was not to deceive us, but to make us aware that they were guilty. Have I got everything right, Shizuka Matsuki?"

Shizuka weakly smiled. "Well done, Takara." she said. "I knew that if there was anyone who could figure this out, it would be you."

"Don't tell me that..." Takara said. The last thing she wanted was to be proud that she was sending a friend to their death.

"Since you've figured it all out, I think it's about to wrap things up!" Monokuma announced. "Go ahead and use the switches in front of you to cast your vote! Who will you vote as the culprit? Will it be the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?" No one wanted to make their choice. It was already bad enough that they lost two classmates to murder, but to lose a third classmate? And for it to be someone like Shizuka? It was a hard weight to carry. With reluctance, they all cast their votes. As it did before, the screen showed the results, Shizuka's face accompanied with the sound of cheering. "Well done, well done! You got it three times in a row! Our murderer of the day, the killer of Naomi Williams and Shigeru Kitagawa, is sweet little Shizuka Matsuki!" Monokuma cheerfully announced.

"That's it. It's all over." Shizuka said, relaxed and accepting of her fate.

"Oh, but there wasn't a unanimous vote this time. You really need to be more careful there, Katsuya." Monokuma said. "If you're not careful, you could cause someone else to die! Or even yourself!"

"Dammit, Matsuki, why did you do this?!" Kazumi screamed. Her eyes were filled with tears, something that just felt wrong. "Why didn' ya jus' get da fuck outta dere?! Why'd ya kill Naomi and Kitagawa?! Ya had a chance ta get away so why didn' ya take it?!"

"Even if she had tried to escape, knowing Kitagawa he probably would've tried to follow her." Arata said.

"Shut the fuck up, Miyazaki!" Kazumi shouted. "Dat doesn' mean she had ta kill him!"

"I'm sorry, Kazumi." Shizuka said. "I didn't want you to die."

"Dat's a load of bull, don't go telling me dat! I don' want ya ta die either!" Kazumi said. "Yer my best friend! Yer life is worth so much more den mine! So why throw yer life away like dis?!"

"Because I didn't want to lose the only friends I've ever had." Shizuka said. "I couldn't bear to be alone again.

"What in da hell're ya talkin' 'bout?!" Kazumi asked.

"I've...always been alone." Shizuka explained. "I was tormented and bullied all my life, and couldn't make a single real friend. Every time it seemed like someone wanted to become my friend, it turned out they were just using me for one reason or another. I kept my emotions bottled up, started avoiding others out of fear that they'd just hurt me again. But then...I received my acceptance letter from Hope's Peak Academy. I knew this was my chance to change. My chance to make real friends and no longer be alone. No one needed to know about my past, if anyone knew about it then they'd just reject me. So I wore a mask of optimism, tried to act like the person I wished I could be. But then this mutual killing started, and the others all died. I didn't want to see any more deaths like that. When I overheard Shigeru and Naomi talking to each other about a double murder, I wanted to stop it. I guess I succeeded in a sense, even if it wasn't the way I would've chosen."

"Still, dat don' mean ya had ta sacrifice yourself!" Kazumi shouted.

"What were you doing by the karaoke bar anyway?" Satoshi asked. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place you'd go to by yourself."

"I was returning to the hotel from the museum." Shizuka said. "I heard voices coming from the karaoke bar and...well, you know the rest already."

"Dis ain't fair! It jus' ain't fair, dammit!" Kazumi said, walking over to Shizuka and grabbing her by her shirt. "Ya could've escaped from dis shithole! Ya could've lived! An' instead ya decided ta throw everythin' away?! Matsuki, ya dumbass!"

"It's okay, Kazumi. Really, it is." Shizuka said in an attempt to comfort her friend.

"How da fuck is any of dis okay?!" Kazumi asked. She was having a hard time holding back her tears. "I have ta stand here an' lose ya an' dere's nothin' I can do 'bout it! None of dat seems okay ta me!" She let go of the painter, unable to take out her anger any longer. "I can't lose ya, 'cause I...I..."

"I made this choice myself, it's only fair that I take responsibility for my actions." Shizuka said. "Besides, I have no regrets. ...Actually, no. That's a lie. I do have one regret."

"What would that be?" Miyako asked.

"My one sole regret is that I can't see that person again." Shizuka answered as she looked down at the floor. "I can't see him and tell him I'm sorry."

"That person? Him? Who are you talking about?" Kumiko asked. "You're not talking about Gerugu are ya?"

"No, not him. I'm talking about someone who's very important to me." Shizuka said. "Someone I forgot."

"How did you manage to forget about someone important to you?!" Ryouta asked.

"Because he's from that time we're missing." Shizuka explained. "Monokuma was right, we did go to Hope's Peak Academy and forgot all about it."

"Huh?! You remember everything?!" Arata asked.

"But Monokuma was lying to make us kill each other!" Ryouta said.

"No, he was telling the truth all along." Shizuka said. "We had classes at Hope's Peak together, all of us. I don't remember everything though, only some of my memories have come back to me. But I remember enough to know that we were classmates, and that I met someone close to my heart."

"So then, Monokuma restored some of your memories or something?" Masaru asked.

"Nope, I didn't do it!" Monokuma said. "If I had done it, she'd remember everything about her time at the Academy. Besides, I don't give the incentive unless the culprit deceives all of you and graduates! And since she wanted to get caught, I didn't give her jack! What's the point in doing that?!"

"So then, how come she remembers?" Takara asked.

"I'm not sure how to explain it myself." Shizuka said. "But after I finished everything last night, I tried to get some sleep. As I fell asleep I heard a voice telling me to remember, but I couldn't understand what it meant. Then I had some strange dreams. When I woke up, I had these memories back. Memories of us, of our upperclassmen, and of that special person."

"Who da fuck is dis special person ya keep talkin' about?!" Kazumi asked.

"I don't remember his name, no matter how hard I try, but I remember his face and other things about him." Shizuka said, remembering him with a peaceful expression. "We were close, and he treated me with nothing but kindness. He was there to help me no matter what, and he didn't judge me when I told him the truth. It was almost as if...he understood me. He's a bit strange, but I don't mind. I care about him, even just from remembering him. Maybe it's more than that, maybe I love him. I'm not sure if it's romantic love, but it's love all the same. I know he's real, I know I've spent time with him, and so I regret that I can't see him again."

"Not like it would matter anyway!" Monokuma said. "That person you're talking about, he's already dead!"

"What?" Shizuka said, turning to look at the bear.

"Yessire, he died some time ago!" Monokuma explained. "So seeing him at all isn't possible anymore! You couldn't possibly see him again even if you wanted to!"

"You bastard!" Kazumi shouted, walking over to Monokuma's throne. "Why da fuck would ya tell her dat?! Is it 'cause ya want more of dat stupid despair bullshit?! 'Cause I wanna know why you'd tell Matsuki somethin' like dat!"

"No, it's fine." Shizuka said, garnering confused looks from both Kazumi and Monokuma. "I think that deep down, I already knew that." she said, tears escaping from her eyes. "Because thinking about his face, his voice, it makes me sad inside. The only reason for that has to be because something happened to him, and deep down I guess I knew that. It's something I haven't remembered, but it's probably better that way. After all, we willingly gave up those memories didn't we? At least now I truly can die without regrets."

She took off her scarf and walked to Kazumi. "I can't give this to him so I want you to have it." she said. She placed the scarf over Kazumi's shoulders. "I've been waiting to give this to the person I trust more than anyone else, and that person is you, my best friend." She wrapped her arms around the distressed vocalist. "Because you've always been my friend. Even though you can't remember everything."

"...Dammit Shizuka." Kazumi said, hugging her back.

"This is starting to get too sappy for my liking!" Monokuma irritatingly said. "So I think it's time we got this show on the road!"

"What?! No, ya can't! Please, don' execute her!" Kazumi said, letting go of Shizuka and looking desperately at the bear. She looked so helpless in that moment, so weak.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment, for the Super High School Level Painter!" Monokuma continued, ignoring her pleas.

"Don'chu jus' ignore me like I ain't here, ya stupid sack of shit bear! I told ya ta wait!" Kazumi shouted.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!" Monokuma announced.

"PLEASE! DON' KILL SHIZUKA!" Kazumi shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Well, I guess this is the end." Shizuka said. "Goodbye, everyone. I'm truly glad I had the chance to meet you all." One final tear fell from her face. "...I just remembered his name."

_**Shizuka Matsuki has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!** _

**The Final, Grand Masterpiece**

For the third time, Monokuma gathered the students behind a fence, but there was no seating this time. They were forced to stand. Shizuka was standing straight against a dirty gray wall, her hands bound together with large rope. Monokuma tied a red blindfold with the word "criminal" on it around her eyes. She couldn't see anything, yet she was smiling. She merely clasped her hands together in what appeared to be prayer, welcoming whatever horrid execution was devised for her.

A large firing squad appeared, and aimed all their rifles at Shizuka. The sound of mocking laughter erupted from the crowd. Monokuma signaled with his hands, allowing the firing squad to shoot. The students expected to see the painter become riddled with bullet holes, but when the shooting began, all that happened was that Shizuka was being covered in blasts of red paint. It was easy to notice though that the paint just happened to look similar to blood, likely not by coincidence. She continued to be shot with balls of paint, and at the close range they were firing it appeared to even be breaking her skin.

It wasn't long before her entire body was covered in the paint, yet even still the painter continued to smile. Then, among the firing squad, a strange figure could be spotted holding a shotgun. They aimed at the paint-soaked Shizuka, and shot at her head. The bullet hit it's mark, going directly through her forehead and leaving a splatter of blood on the wall behind her. Then, to add further insult to injury, they shot her through the heart as well. Her arms fell as her body slumped down to the ground. A small pool of what could only be a mixture of blood and paint formed under her body.

Even in death, she was smiling.

No one could find the words to speak. How many more executions would they have to see? How many of them would end up like Kaito and Ayame and Shizuka? How far would this game go?

"Strange, that execution didn't feel as satisfying." Monokuma said. "Maybe it's because she didn't even try to get away with it? Oh whatever, it's not like her death had much meaning!" Kazumi, who was slumped down on the floor, suddenly shot up and was ready to shout at him.

"Matsuki's death certainly wasn't in vain." Arata said. "But when you think about it, can you truly say she had good intentions?"

"Don'chu DARE talk shit 'bout Shizuka! Especially after she died, ya asshole!" Kazumi shouted, her eyes red and puffy.

"That's not my intention." Arata clarified. "I'm just saying that her desire to keep us alive is foolish and naive. Not to mention selfish. If she truly was alone like she claims, and we were the only friends she had aside from that person she mentioned, she wanted to keep us all alive so she wouldn't have to feel loneliness again. Even if she did care about us, we shouldn't make her into a martyr. She became a culprit just like Fujiwara and Ishikawa did, and we shouldn't forget that."

"Still, for someone like her to murder somebody is just unreal." Masaru said.

"It just goes to show that any one of us could commit murder." Ryouta said. "Even her."

"But that doesn't mean we have to stop trusting in each other." Satoshi said. "It won't get us anywhere."

"Satoshi, don't. Not now." Takara said. "I know you're trying to help, but stop. We should just get out of here and get some sleep."

"I'll take Kazuzu to her room." Kumiko said, standing beside the distraught vocalist.

"That's good for me, I'm sick of looking at you." Monokuma said. "So long, suckers!" He vanished, leaving them standing in the warm-colored room.

The nine of them made their way towards the doors, putting their shoes back on before heading out. An extra pair was still sitting there, a pair of long brown boots. Shizuka's shoes no doubt. She never put them back on before the execution. No one knew what to do with them, but Kazumi grabbed them anyway. No one bothered to ask her why, they all just wanted to leave and put the events of the day behind them.

No one spoke the whole way back to the hotel. Everyone just returned to their rooms. Takara took everything out of her bag, setting the sketchbook and files onto her bed. At this rate it felt like she was gathering items from everyone who was dead. Chiyo's talisman, Kaito's caricatures, Hikaru and Ayame's towel, Naomi and Shigeru's files, and Shizuka's sketchbook. How many more people would she have to watch die?

She looked back at the files. She took a glance at the names. "The Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind", just what could that entail? "School Life of Mutual Killing", was this that event the journal was mentioning? The last one confused her the most though. "School Memories"? What was that all about? She opened the folder and just found photographs, they looked at least a year old. The pictures were of all of them in brown school uniforms, smiling and enjoying their days. Some photographs had some of them with other students she didn't recognize, including one of Shizuka and some boy with strange eyebrows. She quickly put that one away, it was too soon to look at that picture knowing what it implied. Even though she didn't remember any of this, she knew it had to be true. But then there was one photograph that confused her.

The picture was of their entire class, smiling for the camera as a group. Some of them had arms around each other, and a few were even holding hands. But she saw two figures she didn't recognize among the group. The first was a girl with long pink hair who had her hand in a peace symbol while her other arm was sitting on Ryouta's head. The second was a boy with dark hair and red eyes who was looking down at Miyako. Who were these two students? They were never here with them at all! So why were they in the picture, and who were they? She looked in some other photos, noticing those two appearing in them. If they were supposed to be part of their class, why weren't they with them in the resort?

Maybe the journal could give her some answers. She walked over to her nightstand and reached for her journal, but something was underneath it. Two pieces of paper. She slipped them out from under the journal and looked over them. These were student profiles, but not just any profiles. They were profiles for the two students in the picture she didn't recognize. They were average profiles from Hope's Peak Academy, and according to them they were in the 79th Class. The same class they were in. She looked over their names and talents, maybe they could help jog some memory. The girl was Saemi Sasagawa, Super High School Level Playwright. She heard that name before, she wrote a number of brilliant plays in the past few years. Unfortunately she didn't know much else about her. The boy was Shuuya Kuronaga, but where his talent was listed there was instead a long black line similar to the ones scattered throughout the journal.

Saemi Sasagawa and Shuuya Kuronaga. Why weren't they here with the rest of them? What was Shuuya's talent? Where did these files come from? There were so many questions in Takara's head, she didn't know where to begin. But it was her duty as a journalist to find the answers. She picked up the folder on the "Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident of Mankind" and opened it. It was gonna be a long night.

**9 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	29. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Daily Life I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to upload this yesterday, but I got sidetracked by Dangan Ronpa 2 and didn't finish it until today. My bad. I'll also admit, I didn't really feel in the groove while writing this part. So it's not the best. Hopefully the rest of the chapter can make it up.

"Good morning everyone!" Takara woke up with a start from the sound of Monokuma's voice. She looked at the papers and photographs scattered around her bed. Crap, she fell asleep while looking at the files. This wasn't like her at all. There was so much to read, but so little time. She put everything back in their respective folders and placed them on her desk as she got dressed. She needed to report to breakfast right away. She didn't want to worry the others.

Entering the restaurant, she felt a somber atmosphere. It was only natural though, three of their friends were dead. Which meant there were three more empty seats. Shigeru and Naomi hadn't been coming to breakfast lately, but that didn't mean the room felt less empty without them. And then there was Shizuka, it felt so strange seeing Kazumi sitting by herself at a table. She had never seen the vocalist look so tired, it was depressing. Hopefully she wouldn't go into a similar state as Kumiko did. Taking pity on her, Takara decided to sit next to her. "Morning, Kazumi." she said.

Kazumi looked up at her. "...Mornin'." she said.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Takara asked. "I know this can't be easy for you."

"I'll be fine." Kazumi said. "I jus' need some time ta take dis all in."

"Okay, if you say so." Takara said as Satoshi sat next to her. The remainder of breakfast was spent in silence. No one knew what to talk about, even though everyone was barely eating. The silence was finally broken by Miyako.

"Two weeks." she said.

"Huh? What about two weeks?" Masaru asked.

"It's been two weeks since we came here." Miyako clarified. "If things had gone as planned, we'd be leaving this place today."

"Instead, we have seven people dead." Minoru said.

"Seven of us are dead in just two weeks. And you think _I'm_ in the wrong for being skeptical?" Ryouta asked.

"Shut da fuck up, Hoshino." Kazumi said.

"Still, we shouldn't give up." Satoshi said. "Monokuma's the one that caused all this. He's the reason our friends are gone. We shouldn't go blaming ourselves."

"But blaming Monokuma won't change anything." Takara said. "If you're trying to comfort us, then it isn't working. Not everyone can feel as optimistic as you." Satoshi went silent.

"That was kinda harsh, Karins." Kumiko said.

"I think we've spent enough time in here moping around." Arata said. "If I'm correct, which I usually am, then we should have a new area open to us. Therefore, I propose that we go and explore. Who knows, we may find something of use to us."

"Arata's right. We should use our time wisely instead of just sitting here feeling sory for ourselves." Minoru said. "Let's go look around and then meet up back here to discuss what we find."

"I'll stay here and clean up. I don't really feel like I'll be incredibly useful this time around." Masaru said.

"That's alright, do what you need to." Minoru said.

Everyone besides Masaru left, leaving Takara to think about where to go next. As she walked out into the lobby, she noticed the hallways were opened up. There was no more warning tape blocking the way. She decided to check them, there had to be something of interest there. But as she walked, she noticed there were only rooms she couldn't enter. She was about to turn back when she spotted a door that was different than the others.

Instead of a room number, the door had a label that read "Manager's Office". Was this why she couldn't come down here before? But why open the place up now? Curious, she tried to open the door, only to find it was locked. "What the hell? Why won't it open?" she asked herself.

"Because it's my office! And I don't want you kids snooping around in there!" Monokuma had appeared behind her.

"What? How is this your office? You're not the manager!" Takara said.

"Well I am now! No one's here running the place, you know. So I'm the one running the hotel." Monokuma explained, his irritated tone suggesting she should have known that already.

"Well, then what's in there that you don't want us finding?" Takara asked.

"I have important documents that aren't meant for the eyes of children!" Monokuma said. "Very important headmaster things, you see."

"Wouldn't someone be able to break in?" Takara asked.

"Impossible!" Monokuma insisted. "I've set it up so that if anyone tries to get in without my permission, an alarm will go off throughout the resort. And since none of you kids are professional spies or anything like that, I don't have to worry about you sneaking in without me noticing! So don't even think of getting in here, or else you'll be punished without another thought!" The bear vanished once again. She really hated how he could do that so easily.

There was definitely nothing worth looking at in the halls, so she decided to leave. There was bound to be another district to look through. She walked out the doors and headed down the far right path, the only path that was left. As she walked, she found that the path split in the middle. One way continued going right but was blocked by a gate, which Ryouta was irritatingly banging at, the other went slightly to the left. It was a no brainer which way she could go. Walking down the left path, she found the path turn into brick the closer she got to the district. Soon she found herself standing in an open clearing. There didn't seem to be as many buildings as the past districts. She suddenly noticed the shrine gate and the stone stairs. She already knew what would await her, but she walked up the stairs anyway.

Just as she thought, there was a Shinto shrine. Despite the fact that no one was here, it looked to be kept in good shape. Was that because Monokuma was keeping the place neat? She looked around the grounds before spotting Kazumi of all people. She didn't expect to see the vocalist here out of her classmates, especially writing on an ema. "Kazumi, what're you doing here?" she asked.

Kazumi looked up and stared at the journalist. "Oh hey, didn' hear ya comin' up." she said. "I jus' came here ta write on dis ema."

"You have a wish or prayer you want answered?" Takara asked. "That doesn't seem like something you'd be doing."

"Yeah, I know." Kazumi replied. "But I saw dis place an' felt like I needed ta do dis." She finished writing on the ema and hung it up. "Hopefully da gods'll see it."

Takara looked at the newly hung ema and read it to herself. The writing was sloppy, but it looked like Kazumi had tried to make it look neat somewhat. _"Let the souls of our dead classmates find peace in the afterlife"_ was what it said. "This is what you're wishing for?" she asked.

"Well it ain't like we can hold a funeral or nothin'. Especially since dat fuckin' bear's done somethin' with all da bodies." Kazumi said. "So da least I can do is pray for 'em to find solace an' shit. Even Kitagawa deserves it, though he didn' act like it."

"You're praying for Shizuka aren't you?" Takara asked. "That's what this is about isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. But not really." Kazumi said. "Don' get me wrong, I want her ta be at peace too an' all. But I don' think I need ta pray for dat. If da bear was right in sayin' dat person she liked is dead, den she'll be at peace if I pray or not. Plus it ain't fair if I jus' wish for her ta be at peace. Da rest of 'em need it too."

"You know, you're not as rough as I thought you were." Takara said.

"Shut up! I'm plenty rough! I jus' care 'bout my bes' friend's afterlife!" Kazumi insisted.

"Whatever you say, Kazumi." Takara said.

"...Hey, can I tell ya somethin'? I got a secret I ain't told anyone, not even Shizuka knew it." Kazumi said. "Ya can't tell anyone though, or else I'll fuckin' kill ya!"

"Sure, sure, you can tell me. I'm not gonna tell anyone." Takara said. She wouldn't dare tell a secret of Kazumi's anyway.

"Da truth is, Kazumi ain't my real name. It's jus' a stage name." Kazumi said. "I didn' wanna use my actual name 'cause it's too fuckin' girly."

"Really? Then what's your real name?" Takara asked.

"Don' laugh okay?" Kazumi said. "My real name's Hanako. Hanako Katsuya. A cutesy soundin' name like dat wasn' gonna fit my punk-ass image, so I went with Kazumi. Aside from my family, you're da only one who knows dis."

"I can see why you changed it." Takara said. "A name like that doesn't fit."

"I know, right?" Kazumi said. "Dat's why I changed it! I jus' don' want anyone ta know dat, which is why I've kept it secret all dis time. If the others knew dat Kazumi was jus' my nickname, dey'd laugh at me. Especially Miyazaki."

"Then why tell me?" Takara asked.

"I dunno." Kazumi admitted. "I guess 'cause Shizuka's gone I felt like tellin' someone. You were jus' da first one I thought of."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Takara said. "Anything else here?"

"Naw, it's jus' yer average shrine." Kazumi said. "I guess it's here jus' in case or somethin'."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." Takara said, walking towards the stone stairs. She was glad to see Kazumi was doing okay. She didn't think she could handle another depressed person. She made her way to the next building, which looked like a Christian church. Strange, what was this doing here? She entered the door to find that it was indeed a church. It seemed strange for a church to be right next to a Shinto shrine, but she wasn't one to complain.

Satoshi seemed to be inside as well. The instant he saw Takara, his smile vanished. He was always happy to see her, why was he upset now? "Oh, hi." he said.

"Hi." Takara replied. "So, what's the deal with this place?"

"It's just an ordinary church." Satoshi said. "Probably put here for Christians who want to worship to God or something."

"What's wrong with you? Did something crawl up your ass and bite you?" Takara asked.

"...I'm just trying to figure things out." Satoshi replied, taking a moment to think about what he was going to say.

"What might those things be?" Takara asked.

"I don't need to tell you everything, it doesn't concern you!" Satoshi snapped. What the hell was that all about? He never got like this.

"Jeez, I was just asking you a question." Takara said.

"Just leave me alone! I need some time to myself!" Satoshi said.

"Fine, crab-ass. I don't need your help anyway." Takara said, storming out of the church in irritation. "Ugh, what's with him?!" she said to herself. As she walked to the next building, she ran into Kumiko. Thankfully not literally.

"Woah, what happened to you, Karins? You look all mad and stuff!" The comic artist asked.

"It's nothing, Satoshi's just being a total ass." Takara said.

"Ooooooh, I see." Kumiko said. "Well I don't know just what happened, but ya shouldn't be too mad at him! He's trying his best to keep us together you know! He's probably stressed out!"

"Stressed or not, that doesn't mean he has to act like a jerk." Takara said.

"Just give him some time, I'm sure Toshi'll be his happy happy self in no time!" Kumiko said. "Besides, he can't stay mad at you forever! I know he can't." With a suspicious giggle, she skipped away. That girl was a complete mystery.

Trying to calm herself, Takara found herself walking into what looked like a zoo. Wait, how the hell was a zoo here without them noticing it?! "Oh, Takara!" Minoru spotted her and walked over. "I can't believe it, this resort has a wildlife preserve! These are all rescued animals who have large open cages. I didn't think such a place existed here!"

"But who's taking care of all the animals here? There's no staff." Takara asked.

"Maybe it's Monokuma?" Minoru suggested. "Well either way, I'm glad I found this place. I haven't seen any animals since we got here and it was starting to feel strange. But Now I see they're all here! That's a relief."

Now that he mentioned it, Takara realized she hadn't seen or heard any animals since they came here. Not even a bird or bug. That didn't seem right. They couldn't all be here, could they? "I don't know, I still find it strange."

"Oh well. I suppose not everyone is happy around animals like I am." Minoru said. He suddenly looked up at the sky, almost as if he noticed something strange.

"Uh, Minoru? What're you looking at?" Takara asked.

"There's clouds in the sky." Minoru said.

Takara looked up and saw some clouds. "Okay, so it's partly cloudy. What's the big deal?" she asked.

"There hasn't been a single cloud in the sky since we came here. We've had nothing but perfect weather." Minoru said. "That probably means something big is about to happen."

"Are you sure? It doesn't look that bad." Takara said.

"Anyway, just be careful while you're outside, okay?" Minoru asked.

"Ok, fine. I'll watch out for the clouds." Takara said sarcastically. She walked away and headed to the next building. Minoru must have been losing it. The clouds meant something was going to happen? They weren't even gray clouds! This resort was starting to take it's toll on everyone.

Entering the final building, she found Arata doing something with Miyako. He looked too excited about something. Maybe Kumiko was right about him being a pervert. "Um, am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"Ah, Tsukuda! Glad to see you've found this place." Arata said, turning away from Miyako and walking towards the journalist. "I need you to help me convince Morino here to help me."

"Uh, help you with what?" Takara asked.

"He wants me to be a model." Miyako stated.

"Why do you want Miyako to be your model?" Takara asked.

"Well I have to use this studio to it's full potential!" Arata said. "My room is too cramped to design anything new, but this place is perfect for me to use. They have swatches of fabric and all the tools one could need to make clothing. And my mind is itching to create! The only thing I don't have is a model. I can't ask Akamine or Katsuya to do it, and it's impossible for me to convince you. But Morino is just what I need. So can you help me convince her?"

"I don't like wearing fancy clothes though." Miyako said.

"It doesn't have to be fancy. Even the simplest thing I could make would be perfect. It'd definitely be better than that drab hoodie you always wear." Arata said.

"...I like my hoodie." Miyako said.

"You're not gonna get through to her. Just give up." Takara said. "Besides, shouldn't you be doing something useful, like looking for a way out?"

"...You're right. I guess even people like me can get distracted by the petty things." Arata said. "Still, I think this studio will hold some use to me."

"What about you, Miyako. Anything interesting?" Takara asked.

"No." Miyako bluntly stated.

"Damn. We're never gonna get out of here at this rate." Takara muttered to herself. She exited the building with disappointment. Nothing of use had been found. Was Monokuma just mocking them by opening these areas? All she knew was that her head hurt. She was glad that she had seen everything, because that meant she could go back to the hotel. She slowly walked back and tried to calm down. This was starting to get to her too.

Making it back to the restaurant, where Masaru was apparently making food for everyone while he was waiting, she sat down and watched as everyone slowly entered. The discussion went by quickly, nothing useful was found this time. Before the meeting ended, she remembered the Manager's Office. No one had brought it up. She had to mention it now.

"Wait, there's one last thing." she said.

"Hm? Out with it then!" Ryouta said.

"The first floor halls have opened." Takara began. "There isn't much there, but I did find something of interest. The Manager's Office."

"Wooooaaah! What was in it?" Kumiko asked.

"I don't know. The door was locked." Takara answered. "Monokuma told me that he had documents in there that we're not allowed to look at. I think he's hiding something in there though."

"Den let's bust in dere an' take 'em!" Kazumi suggested.

"We can't." Arata said. "We're not allowed to steal from him remember?"

"Even so, an alarm will go off if he finds us trying to get in." Takara said.

"Then what's the point of this Manager's Office?" Masaru asked.

"If Monokuma wants to keep us away, then there's something in there he doesn't want us to see." Takara said. "It might even be where the one controlling him is hiding. We need to figure out a way to get inside without the alarm going off."

"Yeah, good luck with that!" Monokuma said as he appeared in a chair. "Did you bastards forget I can hear you? I have to hand it to you, you think the one behind this face is there? That's not a bad suggestion!"

"What do you want?" Minoru asked.

"I'm just here to remind you that if you try anything to get in there, you're just begging for punishment!" Monokuma said. "So unless you feel like dying, don't even bother. You'll get your curtain call before the final act can begin!"

"So you're saying it's impossible for us to get in." Satoshi said.

"Yeppers!" Monokuma said. "Glad to see we're on the same page!" He laughed and vanished under the table.

"Welp, so much for dat plan." Kazumi said.

"It was worth a shot though!" Kumiko said.

The monitors turned on, showing everyone Monokuma's face. "Attention! It is now ten pm! As such, it is officially nighttime."

"Well, we've gone over everything we can today. I think we should get a good night's rest." Minoru said. Silently agreeing, everyone returned to their rooms. Not even bothering to pick up the files or journal, Takara went straight to bed. After everything that happened, she just wanted to get some sleep.

**9 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	30. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Daily Life II

Everything seemed to have calmed down by the next morning. While there was still a bit of tension, things went back to normalcy. Well, almost. As Takara walked into the restaurant, she tried to say hello to Satoshi, but he just turned his head and ignored her. What the hell was up with him? He was never this rude to her. Not worrying about it too much, she took a seat next to Kumiko and Minoru.

"Hey there, Karins!" Kumiko said. "You're kinda late this morning, we were about to go to your room and check up on you!"

"I just had a slow start his morning." Takara said with a yawn. "For some reason I feel tired even though I slept all night."

"Here, why don't you have this? It'll help you wake up." Minoru said. He handed her a bottled drink, insisting that she take it. She looked at the label closely. It looked like a smoothie drink, and had the words "100% organic" on it.

"Is this from that health food store?" Takara asked.

"Yeah. It's my favorite drink and all, so I brought as much of it back here as I could." Minoru said. "I put half of it in the mini-fridge in my room, and the rest of it in the kitchen fridge. It really helps me wake up in the morning, a lot better then that caffeinated stuff does."

When did he have the time to bring it all back here?! And just how much was there in the first place?! "Thanks." Takara said. "But don't you want it?"

"I can just go grab another if I want to." Minoru said. "Besides, you need it more than I do."

"And if it doesn't work, then I'll just go make some of my Super Coffee!" Kumiko said. "If that doesn't wake you up, then nothing will!"

"It looks like everyone's here." Arata stated. "With that in mind, I believe we should take this time to discuss what we should do from here."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Masaru asked.

"Well first of all, we don't have a proper leader." Arata said. "Kitagawa had appointed himself as the leader, but ever since he and Williams had decided to stop coming to breakfast we've been without one. And I don't know about you, but I'd prefer that we don't run around without someone directing us. So I think we should put this to a vote."

"Why we gotta vote fer a leader?" Kazumi ask.

"I figured that this way, everyone would have a fair chance." Arata explained. "Since there's only nine of us left, I would assume that by now we'd have an idea who's trustworthy and reliable. So if we all choose a leader by voting on it, I'm certain we'll end up with someone much more suited for the job than Kitagawa was."

"Well, why not just appoint yourself as leader?" Minoru asked. "You seem like you'd be good at it just by figuring this out."

"Because the last person who appointed themselves as leader is now dead, and he abandoned his duties and was doing who knows what." Arata stated flatly. "No, even though I wouldn't mind being the leader I'd rather have this settled fairly. The last thing we need is people arguing over who's in charge. Therefore, we'll set things up like this. Since it's obvious that some of you are still waking up, I'd like you to spend today thinking about who you'd prefer to have as leader. Then at the next breakfast meeting, we'll all vote as a group. Whoever has the majority vote will be our leader. Does that sound fair to the rest of you?"

"I don't mind." Miyako said.

"Ehh, I guess so." Kazumi said.

"Sure, whatever you say, Arata." Minoru answered.

"That works for me!" Kumiko said.

"Whatever." Ryouta said. "Just as long as it makes things go faster."

"Okay." Satoshi muttered.

"Sounds fair, I'm all for it!" Masaru said.

"Yeah, I'm cool with that." Takara said.

Arata smirked. "Then it's settled. In the meantime, continue to explore or spend your time in whatever manner you see fit." he said. "Come tomorrow morning, we shall have a new leader."

A new leader? Perhaps having someone directing everyone would be good for everyone. No one liked how Shigeru had ran things anyway. But who to pick? Takara had no idea who would be fitting for the position off the top of her head. But she had all day to figure it out, so she had plenty of time to think things over. After the announcement, breakfast passed quietly as usual. Just as Minoru said, the smoothie drink helped her feel less tired. She returned to her room feeling energized and awake. She didn't feel like sitting in her room starring at documents all day, she needed to make good use of this energy while she had it! She decided to go spend some time with people, see what was up with them. Even she deserved a break every now and then.

She headed out and made her way outside. As she walked, she looked up at the clouds and noticed that there were more of them in the sky than yesterday. They were even darker than before as well. Maybe he was right when he said something big was going to happen. She entered the new district (she couldn't think of a name for it), and managed to run into Ryouta.

"GAAAHH!" Ryouta screamed as she came closer. "Oh wait, it's just you." Ryouta said. "What do you want?"

"I wanna talk with you, duh." Takara said. "What other reason would I have?"

"You could be trying to kill me!" Ryouta said.

"Trust me, I have better things to do than kill people." Takara said.

"How should I know?! You're probably lying!" Ryouta said.

"Dude, I'm a terrible liar." Takara said. "I've dedicated my life to telling the truth, so any lie I come up with is see-through."

"...But why talk to me? Everyone else around here would be more worth your time." Ryouta said.

"Well, I don't know much about you." Takara said. "I couldn't really find that much about you through research, turns out there's not many articles out there that talk about florists."

"Well that's because we're not worth talking about!" Ryouta shouted. "Everyone else in our class has something worth talking about but me! Because to everyone else in the world, I'm nothing but a mere florist! When the reality is that that's not even scratching the surface!"

"Hm? How so?" Takara asked.

"I'm not just a florist, I have extensive knowledge of all kinds of flora!" Ryouta stated, a hint of pride in his tone of voice. "The natural world is just so fascinating to me. There are tons of different plants that have all kinds of properties. Medicine, poison, food, plants can be used for anything! And I know just what each one does!"

"Wow, that's impressive." Takara said. "So then why are you the Super High School Level Florist and not the Super High School Level Botanist or something like that?"

"Because someone else stole that title from me!" Ryouta said.

"Huh? Stole it? How?" Takara asked.

"I don't fucking know! I've never met them in person or anything!" Ryouta said. "All I know is that the title of Botanist should be mine! But the school decided to only recognize my work as a florist instead of my many other talents! I was cheated out of my real title!"

"It's not their fault though. I'm sure you're just as qualified as that Super High School Level Botanist is." Takara said.

"Then why didn't the title go to me?" Ryouta asked.

"Hey, I don't have all the answers." Takara said.

"That Super High School Level Botanist... They're my sworn enemy from this point on!" Ryouta proclaimed.

"Why do they have to be your enemy?" Takara asked. "Wouldn't it be better if you tried to make friends with them? You two would probably make a good team!"

"Never in a million years would I team up with them! The last time I teamed up with anyone led to nothing but disaster!" Ryouta said. "Besides, friendship has always been nothing but trouble for me! It's never done me any good!"

"Huh? Why not?" Takara asked.

"Great, now I've brought back some bad memories. Thanks a lot." Ryouta said. "That's all the information you're gonna get out of me. I'm leaving." The florist stomped off in a huff. Just what happened to make him so weary of people? Maybe she'd never know. That boy was a hard person to understand.

Takara still felt kind of restless. Maybe there was someone else she could talk to. She returned to the hotel and went to the lounge. Sitting in one of the chairs was Kazumi, who noticed the journalist come in despite the fact that she seemed distracted with a game she was playing. "Yo, Tsukuda! Wanna go for a round?" she asked. "I found dis cool as shit fightin' game an' I need someone ta practice with!"

"Sure, I got time." Takara said. She sat down on the couch and tried to play the game with her. Neither of them were very good at it, so most of the rounds were spent trying to figure out the controls. Regardless, it was a lot of fun. At least they were both bad at the game and could laugh at each other.

"Man, no wonder video games are popular. They're fuckin' amazin'!" Kazumi said.

"I'm guessing you don't play them that much?" Takara asked.

"Nah, I ain't played any before now." Kazumi said. "Neva had enough money for 'em."

"Weird, I'd think someone like you would have a ton of money from your vocalist work." Takara said.

"Not yet. I only started doin' it around two years ago." Kazumi said. "An' even so, money's still kinda tight."

"What do you mean?" Takara asked.

"Well, my family's neva had much money." Kazumi explained. "We have enough ta buy essentials an' shit, but not much else. Plus we live in a small apartment. We ain't scrapin' for dirt, but we don' have enough ta spend on luxuries an' all dat fancy ass crap."

"That seems kinda strange if you ask me." Takara said.

"It's true though. I live in da rough part of Osaka, ya see." Kazumi said. "I had ta learn how ta fight so me an' my lil' sis don' get our asses kicked on da way ta school. It ain't easy, but it's jus' how life is for me."

"What about now though? Being a vocalist and all must make you some money." Takara said.

"It does. More than what my parents make dat is." Kazumi said. "It's only recently dat we've been able ta use money for fun. We jus' got a TV in our place now, an' it's all thanks ta dis job!"

"So you're only into it so you can make money?" Takara asked.

"Well yeah, I want my family ta have a nice life an' shit." Kazumi said. "Don' get me wrong, I enjoy dis gig a lot, but da money is what's important ta me. My parents and sis deserve better den what dey got."

"Well, at least you have a good reason for wanting money." Takara said.

"I'll be honest, if I hadn' got discovered I was gonna join a biker gang." Kazumi said. "I didn' have a future so it ain't like I would be throwin' away anythin'. I even knew which one I was gonna join too. The Crazy Diamonds."

"Isn't that the biggest biker gang in the country?!" Takara asked.

"I guess so." Kazumi said. "But damn are dose fuckers cool! I think da leader got in ta Hope's Peak or somethin'? If da school recognizes dat, den I was sure ta be set! Not ta mention he seems like da kinda guy I'd get along with!"

Thank god she became a vocalist instead. "Yeah, I can see that. You have similar attitudes." Takara said.

"Huh? Ya know 'im?" Kazumi asked.

"No, I've just read about him." Takara said. "But I could see you two being friends."

"Glad ta know ya think so!" Kazumi said. "I wonder if it's too late ta join..." Why was she still thinking of joining?!

"I don't think you can be a vocalist and a biker at the same time though." Takara said.

"Son of a bitch, yer right!" Kazumi said. "Ah well. Guess I'll keep it in mind in case my music goes down da tube."

The two continued to play the game for a while until Kazumi got hungry. The two parted ways as the vocalist made her way to the restaurant. Takara decided to go too, but found herself literally running into Satoshi instead. "Shit, sorry about that Satoshi." Takara said, hoping his bad mood was finally gone.

"You should've watched where you were going, then you wouldn't have needed to say sorry." Satoshi said. Nope, it was still there.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been an ass ever since yesterday!" Takara said.

"What, and you haven't been one?" Satoshi asked.

"What are you talking about?!" Takara asked.

"Maybe I was wrong to idolize you, I didn't know how much of a jerk you could be." Satoshi said. "I guess they're right when they say you shouldn't meet your idols."

"Hey it's not my fault you had some bullshit preconceptions of me!" Takara said. "I'm not perfect and you know it!"

"You could at least try to be nicer! More than once now you've shouted at me and told me to shut up! Even though I'm just trying to help raise everyone's spirits!" Satoshi said.

"Well not everyone here can look on the bright side of things, we can't always pop back from some bad event that happens!" Takara said.

"I don't have to deal with this, I'm leaving. I need some time to myself anyway, time away from you." Satoshi said. He stood up and walked towards the doors.

"Fine, go on and leave! See if I fucking care!" Takara shouted at him. "Go off into your own fantasy world where everything is happy and see if I care!" She turned to the restaurant, seeing that she had an audience.

"Holy shit, dat was intense." Kazumi said.

"I guess the lovers quarrel is over." Arata said.

"You gonna be alright, Takara?" Masaru asked.

"Satoshi is just an idiot, that's the only problem I have with him." Takara said. "He thinks we can just act happy and move on from our friends deaths."

"He's just optimistic, he wants to look on the bright side of things." Masaru said.

"There's being optimistic, and then there's being delusional." Takara said. "I wish something would just shock him out of his delusions."

A loud booming sound came from outside, and suddenly the lobby and restaurant were covered in darkness. "Who da fuck turned off da lights?" Kazumi asked.

"I think we're having a power outage." Arata answered.

"More importantly, what was that booming noise?" Takara asked.

A shining light moved around in the restaurant, shining itself on the four people inside. "Oh, you're all in here, that's a relief." Minoru said. "It looks like there's a heavy rainstorm going on outside. It must've knocked the power."

"Yoshihara, is that you?" Arata asked.

"Yep, Ryouta and Miyako are with me too." Minoru said. "Kumiko and Satoshi aren't in their rooms though."

"We checked in the pool and rec room too." Miyako said.

"Satoshi just stormed off outside." Masaru said. "But we haven't seen Kumiko anywhere."

The lights turned back on, a wave of relief swept over everyone. "Well that didn't last long." Ryouta said.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" A scream came from the lobby. The group rushed out and saw Kumiko soaking wet and holding two very full bags. With all the water dripping from her, it was hard to tell if she was crying or if it was just rain. Her body was definitely shaking though. "The rain was too fast for me! Now I'm drenched!"

"I'll get her a towel from a supply closet." Miyako said, walking off into a hallway. In almost no time, she came back holding a large towel. She draped it over Kumiko, who was too freaked out to thank her.

"That storm came from nowhere!" Kumiko said. "I was just coming back from the convenience store with lots of yummy snacks when all of a sudden it starts pouring on me! And all the lights went out and it was awful! I was super scared for my life!"

"I knew the weather looked sketchy, but for heavy rain this sudden?" Minoru said. "Where did it come from?"

"It's a monsoon!" Monokuma had materialized once again. "Looks like the rainy season isn't over just yet!"

"What do you want now?" Takara asked.

"I came to warn you all of this terrible storm!" Monokuma said. "It's super dangerous to go outside in such terrible weather. What kind of headmaster would I be if I didn't look out for the safety of you students?"

"What're you trying to say?" Masaru asked.

"Until this storm ends, you are not allowed to leave the hotel!" Monokuma said. "Not even for a second!"

"You've gotta be kidding me! What are we supposed to do locked up in here?!" Ryouta asked.

"Well there's a lot you can do in a hotel!" Monokuma said. "It's not like I've locked you up in a room with no escape or something."

"What about our laundry? We don't have limitless amounts of clothing." Miyako said.

"That's not my problem!" Monokuma said. "Figure it out yourselves, you lazy bums!"

"At least we got food." Kazumi said.

"About that, I won't be able to restock the kitchen until the storm calms down." Monokuma said. "So whatever food you have here now is what you're stuck with! Lucky for you though, I restocked the place this morning."

"What the hell?!" Kumiko said. "What else is there to all this?!"

"Well, these power outages probably aren't going to end with that one, you know." Monokuma said. "So don't rely on the lights to keep you safe!" Kumiko dropped the overstuffed bags and began to shake again.

"Hold on a second! Satoshi's still out there! You have to help him!" Takara said.

"Huh, I thought something obnoxious was missing." Monokuma said. "The kid's outta luck. He'll either die in the storm, or need to find somewhere to take shelter."

"This is a new motive, isn't it?" Arata asked. "You locked us in here on purpose didn't you?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. That's for you to decide!" Monokuma said. "Anyway, good luck with the storm and all!" He vanished.

"This has to be a motive." Arata said. "There's no chance this is coincidence. He's locked us up in the hotel with limited resources. He probably wants one of us to snap in a confined space."

"We'll just have to conserve the food we have so we don't run out." Minoru said. "Only eat when it's appropriate. We have plenty of food in the kitchen, and I'm sure we have stuff in our rooms."

"Plus I just went on a super snack run!" Kumiko said, holding up the two bags. "So I have tons of chips if anyone needs 'em!"

"What are we gonna do if the power goes out again?" Masaru asked.

"The supply closets have flashlights we can use." Miyako said. "I think I saw some candles as well."

"And what about our clothes? I'm not wearing dirty clothes all day!" Ryouta said.

"Unfortunately, we'll just have to deal with that." Arata begrudgingly said. "We'll have to wear what we have for multiple days until we find a way to wash them. Though I have plenty of clothes if anyone needs them."

"Dat dumb bear thinks he can lock us up so we'll kill each other? Like it's gonna be dat easy!" Kazumi said. "We got dis under control!"

"You've been real quiet, Takara. Is something wrong?" Masaru asked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Satoshi." Takara said. "What if he doesn't make it?"

"I'm sure he'll get to somewhere safe, there's plenty of buildings in the resort he can camp out in." Masaru said. "Satoshi's gonna be fine."

"We should all go get some rest. There might be another way to make this storm end if we work together." Minoru said, walking over to Kumiko and trying to dry her off. "But we should be fully rested first."

"Man, dis is such a lame motive." Kazumi said as they all walked to their rooms. Takara felt awful. What if something happened to Satoshi in the storm? He could be hurt. She went to the window hoping for a sign, but found nothing but wind and rain. The last thing they had done was argue over something stupid, and he was possibly dead out there. As she fell asleep, she prayed that he had found shelter.

**9? STUDENTS REMAIN**


	31. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Daily Life III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took way too long to get this up, it was supposed to be done two days ago.

The next morning came with a pleasant surprise. As she walked down the stairs into the lobby, Takara heard a phone ringing at the front desk. If it were any other day in the resort, she'd find it strange and ignore it. But considering the situation at hand, she rushed to the desk and answered the phone. "Hello?" she said.

"Oh thank god, someone answered." Satoshi's voice came through the other end. Takara felt so relieved, he was alright.

"Satoshi? Is that really you?" Takara asked, just to be certain. She didn't want to fall for one of Monokuma's twisted jokes.

"Yeah, it's me." Satoshi answered. "Is this Takara?"

"Yes, it's me, and whatever's making you pissed off at me will have to wait. There's more pressing matters on our hands." Takara said, a bit upset he didn't call her "Kara-chan". "Where are you? What happened out there?"

"After I stormed out, it started raining." Satoshi explained. "I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then it started getting harder and harder. I knew I couldn't stay out there, so I headed into the nearest building I could find. Which happened to be the museum. I'm alright, but the power keeps going out and the doors are locked. What's going on?"

"Monokuma told us that there's a dangerous storm and that we can't leave the hotel." Takara explained. "Arata thinks that it's his new motive to make us kill each other. Especially since that bear won't restock our food until the storm ends."

"I see. He's probably right." Satoshi said. "But knowing the others, I'm sure they've come up with a good plan for survival."

"Yeah, we've got everything figured out." Takara said. "But what about you? Who knows how long this storm's gonna last. What're you gonna do for food?"

"I found a cafe in here, and they have plenty of things to eat. So I won't go hungry." Satoshi said.

"But what about getting some rest? Monokuma isn't gonna let you sleep there." Takara said.

"I've had to stay up for hours before during excavations, so I'll be fine." Satoshi said.

"How'd you call the hotel anyway?" Takara asked, realizing she hadn't asked that.

"There's a phone at the reception desk here, and it has a book of numbers." Satoshi said. "I tried calling the hotel to see if it worked, and well, you know the rest."

"Well you should call frequently so we know you're alright." Takara said. "Once in the morning and once before nighttime at least. I'm really worried about you."

"...Okay. I'll make sure to call." Satoshi said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, stay safe, okay?" Takara said. "I'll tell the others you're alright."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me Takara." Satoshi said. "Because if this really is a motive, you should watch your back." The call ended, leaving Takara by herself. At least she didn't have to worry about him for the most part. She ran over to the restaurant in excitement, startling everyone else.

"Tsukuda, there you are. I was beginning to think someone had murdered you." Arata said.

"You're never here last for breakfast, what kept ya?" Kumiko asked.

"I know where Satoshi is!" Takara said.

"Really? Teruya's still kickin' it?" Kazumi asked.

"He's taken shelter at the museum." Takara said. "He's going to call twice a day to let us know he's okay. Right in the morning, and right before nighttime."

"Well it's great to hear that he's not in danger." Masaru said. She could've been imagining it, but Takara thought she saw him look just the slightest bit upset.

"Someone's gonna need to go to the phone at those times so we don't miss him though." Ryouta said.

"I can do it in the morning, since I'm usually the first person up anyway." Masaru said.

"I'll do it at night." Miyako added.

"Well then, that's settled. Anyway, now that we're all here, why don't we have some breakfast?" Minoru asked.

"Good thinkin'! I'm feelin' super hungry dis mornin'!" Kazumi said.

"Wait, didn't we have something super special important to talk about?" Kumiko asked.

"If you're referring to the leader vote, we should postpone it." Arata said. "Considering there's only eight of us now and we can't get Teruya's vote, I just don't think we should do it just yet."

"Hm? Why's Satoshi so important?" Ryouta asked.

"Well, with just the eight of us, we could easily run into a tie vote." Arata explained. "Having an odd number made it easier to hold a tiebreaker if needed, but since we're missing someone, well I think you get it."

"So this leader vote is gonna wait until the storm passes." Masaru said.

"Do you have any objections to that idea, Nishioka?" Arata asked, glaring at the patisserie.

"No, no, it's fine!" Masaru said, holding his hands up in protection.

Miyako opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and stayed silent. Takara began to wonder if this storm was already serving its purpose.

Breakfast passed quietly and quickly, there wasn't a ton of food due to the rationing they were doing. Takara returned to her room, thinking about what she would do with her day. She looked outside and saw heavy amounts of rain. Monokuma was right, there's no way they'd last long out there. The places she could explore in the hotel were limited. She could only go to the rec room, the restaurant, the pool, and the lounge. Then there was the power surges. Who knew how often they would come, and how long they'd last? At least she had the flashlight and candles. She needed to get her mind off of things. Maybe talking with someone could help her with that.

She walked out and knocked on the first door she saw, alerting Arata to her presence. He opened the door with a smirk. "Ah, Tsukuda. To what do I owe the honor?" he asked.

"I just wanna hang out, that's all." Takara said.

"Very well, feel free to come in." Arata said. The journalist entered, noticing that the designer had brought some of the studio's materials with him before the storm had started. Some of his mannequins had clothes built around them, meaning he must've been working since the new district opened up. "Alright Tsukuda, why are you here? I doubt this is just a friendly visit." Arata said.

"I didn't have any ulterior motives, but I guess I can satisfy my curiosity about something." Takara said. "What inspired you to become a designer in the first place?"

"Of course you'd ask me that." Arata said. "The mind of a journalist is filled with questions after all. If you must know, it's hard for me to think of one influence. Perhaps it's because I grew up around the Harajuku district of Shibuya, or perhaps it's because my two sisters both have their own takes on fashion. It could also be that I wanted to make a name for myself. Either way, I quickly found myself trying to create my own clothing."

"Oh, you have sisters?" Takara asked. "What kind of stuff are they into?"

"My older sister sticks to Visual Kei, and she's actually come to me to help her make those outfits." Arata said. "Meanwhile, my younger sister enjoys Lolita fashion. Sweet Lolita in particular."

That seemed like a pretty huge difference. "What about you? Surely you have your own style?" Takara asked.

"Not exactly." Arata said. "I create pieces for a number of fashion types, so I don't really stick to one. My style changes and goes with the flow. I go with whatever intrigues me."

"Okay... So what's intriguing you currently?" Takara asked.

"I can't really say. I suppose I'm in between styles right now." Arata said.

"Still, I bet having two fashionista sisters really helps with your work." Takara said.

"It does." Arata said. "Which is why I hope we can leave this place. The two of them rely on my skills you know."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to brag about it." Takara said. She continued her conversation with Arata, learning more about the designer.

\-----------------------------------

"Hiiiiiii, Kazuzu!" Kumiko shouted as she entered the restaurant. The vocalist looked up from her food and saw the pink-haired girl walk towards her. Fuck, so much for eating in peace. The comic artist sat down in the chair across from her.

"Wha'chu want, Akamine? I'm kinda fuckin' busy at da moment." Kazumi said.

"I just saw you here and thought I'd see what's up, that's all!" Kumiko said.

"I don' get why yer spendin' so much time with me suddenly, I mean, we barely know each other." Kazumi said.

"Silly Kazuzu, I'm trying to fix that! Duh!" Kumiko said.

"But ya ain't even tryin' ta talk ta me 'bout stuff." Kazumi said, proceeding to stuff her face with food.

"Oh yeah, right. Stupid me!" Kumiko said. "Well, are you feeling okay?"

"Huh? Wha'chu mean by dat?" Kazumi asked.

"Look, I know how you feel." Kumiko said. "I know you're trying ta be all tough and stuff, but you really miss Shizu don't you?"

"Of course I miss her, dumbass." Kazumi said.

"No, I mean more than you let on." Kumiko said.

"Okay, the fuck are ya talkin' 'bout?" Kazumi asked.

"This isn't something you just get over." Kumiko said, her tone turning serious. "I thought the world was over when I saw Chi-Chi hanging in the laundromat. She's been my bestest friend for like ever. And to think she was gone like that, well, it was hard to bear. I didn't know who to be mad at. I mean, Kai was her killer and all, but it's all 'cause of Teddie that he did it in the first place. I still don't really know who's at fault. But I try to keep strong for Chi-Chi's sake, and for Kai's. I can tell that Shizu's death hit you just as hard, if not more so. But you're still able to act like yourself. Are you really feeling okay, or are you just hiding your feelings so no one bugs you?"

"W-What I do ain't none of yer business, Akamine!" Kazumi stuttered.

"It's okay, Kazuzu. You can talk to me about your feels, I'll listen loud and clear!" Kumiko said. "There's no need to lock 'em up."

"Shut up! I ain't havin' a shitty heart-ta-heart whateva!" Kazumi said.

"Can't you do it for Shizu?" Kumiko asked. "I don't think she's gonna wanna see you all down in the dumps when she's watching from heaven."

"Be quiet, dammit!" Kazumi shouted, standing up from the table. "Don'chu dare act like ya know what she wants!"

"But I know Shizu enough that she wouldn't wanna see you bottling up your sadness." Kumiko said. "Because that's what she did, remember?"

Kazumi didn't speak, she only stared at Kumiko in frustration. It almost looked like she was trying to hold back tears. She raised her arm and slammed her fist against the table. "I...I..." she tried to speak, her head held low.

"Come on, you can tell me!" Kumiko said in encouragement.

"I...I wish I coulda done somethin' ta help her." Kazumi said. "She was hurtin' dis whole time, an she didn' even tell me. What kinda shitty best friend am I ta not notice dat?"

"It's gonna be okay, Kazuzu." Kumiko said, walking up to the vocalist and giving her a hug. It was a surprise that Kazumi didn't back away or push her, but it didn't matter all that much. "Let's just talk it all out. You'll feel better, trust me."

\------------------------------

Finishing her interview with Arata, Takara decided to return to her room for the day. There was still plenty of time left, and she had all those strange files and items to look through. She reached for the desk, when suddenly a knock was heard at her door. She walked over and opened the door, surprised to see Minoru standing there. "Hi, Takara! Could you join me for lunch? I mean, if you're not too busy that is." he said.

It wasn't like the veterinarian to come to her door so suddenly like this. There was some bigger reason he came to her. "Sure, I don't have anything planned for the day." she said, figuring this would be important.

Minoru flashed a smile. "Oh thank you! Alright, I'm treating you to a special meal! I'm gonna make you some vegetable tempura you won't soon forget!" he said.

Within moments, the two of them were sitting in the restaurant with their food in hand. He wasn't lying when he said the tempura would be good. It was delicious! Takara wasn't used to eating vegetarian meals, she'd have to have some more often though. "So what's with the sudden need for me to have lunch with you?" she asked. "Because I doubt it's just because you wanted me to try this tempura of yours."

Minoru laughed nervously. "Dang, I'm that see-through huh?" he said. He looked down at his food and sighed. "Yeah, I had a reason to call you here."

"Well go on, you can tell me what it is." Takara said, taking another bite of the tempura.

"The thing is, I've been thinking about this storm thing." Minoru said, instantly grabbing the journalists attention. "I think Arata's right in saying it's a motive, but I have this itching feeling in the back of my head that it's not what he thinks it is."

"What do you mean?" Takara asked.

"Well, he thinks it's to isolate us in one area with dwindling supplies, right?" Minoru asked. Takara nodded her head in response. "But the thing is, if he wanted to isolate us in one spot, why didn't he do that from the beginning?"

"What do you mean 'from the beginning'?" Takara asked.

"I mean, if Monokuma really wanted to lock us in the hotel, wouldn't he do so from the start instead of letting us have the whole resort?" Minoru explained. "Or why not lock us in some building with no food? That's bound to be effective, right? But instead, he's waited until half of us are dead, and left us with a large, albeit limited, food supply. And though I can't claim to know what he's thinking, wouldn't it make sense for him to give us a better incentive for murder than a storm?"

Takara stopped for a moment, thinking about what he just said. That did seem odd. Monokuma wouldn't just let them sit in the hotel with all that food unless something were to come out of it. "Alright, so what's your idea then? What's the real incentive of this motive?" she asked.

"I think he wants to keep us in one space so we'll get at each other's throats." Minoru said, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. "Before this, we had the whole resort to explore and run around in. We had a ton of places to go and get away from people if needed. But by locking us in the hotel with this storm, we're forced into a smaller space. And even though we got access to multiple floors, there isn't much to do in here. Especially with these power outages." As he mentioned it, the lights went off and the room was dark. A light clicked on, Minoru having pulled out a flashlight.

"So let me get this straight," Takara said. "You're saying that he wants us to stay here because we'll get sick of each other?" She scoffed. "Come on Minoru, that was happening without Monokuma's stupid storm."

"That's not what I mean." Minoru said, a stern tone in his voice. "There's very few places to go in here. There's the restaurant, the pool, the lounge, and our rooms. There's also the rec room, but I don't think anyone wants to go there. With such few places to go, we're more likely to see one another and get on each other's nerves. Not that you guys bug me that is!

"And let's say we don't murder and the food starts running low. No doubt Kumiko or Kazumi would start getting grouchy and irritable with how much they eat. Who's to say that conflict won't come from that? I might be wrong about this, but I can't help but feel worried! Can't you consider it at least?"

Takara thought it over. There was a chance he was right. It'd be like that bear to cram them in one place so tensions would rise. And the scenarios Minoru had mentioned were certainly possible. She was afraid of what Kazumi would do now that the last trial had passed. The lights returned, prompting the veterinarian to put the flashlight back in his pocket.

"You may be right." Takara said. "But what can we do about it? We're stuck in here until a murder happens."

"You and I could figure something out!" Minoru said, snapping back like nothing was wrong. "We can be a team and try to come up with a plan to work around it! There's gotta be a loophole somewhere, you know? Maybe?"

Takara smiled. Even in the darkest of times, Minoru could still try to smile. And it wasn't like Satoshi's optimism either. Even though she was worried about the archaeologist, she had to admit it was nice to have a moment away from him. "Yeah, alright. Let's find a way through this." she said.

"Cool! Maybe we can talk about this more later? I need to go check up on Kumiko." Minoru said, standing up and taking his plate to the kitchen.

"Why Kumiko?" Takara asked.

"She hates power outages, especially during storms." Minoru explained. Takara remembered the comic artist's behavior from yesterday after the storm had started. "So I just want to make sure she'll be alright. See you later, then!"

With no reason to stay, Takara returned to her room and sat down on her bed. She glanced at her clock, seeing that there was still a lot of time left in the day. Her attention was drawn towards the desk, which still had all the strange items on it. The journal, Shizuka's sketchbook, those files and photographs, and the student profiles of Saemi Sasagawa and Shuuya Kuronaga.

She still had no idea why only these bios were placed in her room, and not any of the others. She had tried skimming through the journal, even older entries that had some amount of text in tact, for any hint on who they were. But the amount of black lines and stains were covering it all up. If there were any mentions of them, they'd been hidden. She began to think that they were hidden on purpose. All she could gather is that one of them vanished while they were at the school, and the other vanished after getting them someplace safe. Either their locations were unknown, or they were dead. But why would they need to be taken to safety in the first place? She glanced at the folder with the name "School Life of Mutual Killing", perhaps that had some answers.

She opened up the file and found a number of papers covered in text and images. It looked like some kind of report. Excellent, this was just her kind of reading. She took the first piece of paper and read it to herself.

 _The stage for this "School Live of Mutual Killing" was, ironically enough, Hope's Peak Academy. The ringleader of that event...trapped the students there and forced them to murder each other. Thrust into such unfortunate circumstances, the students began to distrust each other...and the murders began._ So it was like their own situation. Only it took place at Hope's Peak Academy. So this is the event that the journal was talking about.

 _After several days of killing, the entire affair suddenly stopped. Defeated by the investigation and counter-assault of the students, the ringleader took their own life. The six students who managed to survive escaped successfully._ Only six students made it through? That didn't give Takara any relief about their situation. She looked at the next pages, which were more student profiles. But they weren't for Class 79, they were for Class 78.

Some of the names she recognized instantly, since some of them were famous or she had taken the time to look them up, but others were unfamiliar to her. Makoto Naegi, Kyouko Kirigiri, Yasuhiro Hagakure, she didn't recognize them at all. The next one she came across startled her slightly, due to the way it was set up. The lights went off around her, causing her to pull out her flashlight and look at it that way. The first thing she noticed about this profile was the picture, while all the others had a picture of the student from the waist up, this one had an X on it. Just like the photo stands Monokuma set up for the dead in the trials. She read the paper carefully.

The student's name was Sayaka Maizono, Super High School Level Idol. Takara recognized her, she was in that popular girl group. According to this, she was the first casualty. Murdered in another student's bathroom by a knife to the stomach. How horrible. She looked at the next profile. Leon Kuwata, Super High School Level Baseball Player. Another name she recognized. There was an X on his picture as well. He was the first murderer, and was executed justly. She didn't even want to read how he was executed, the memories of her classmates own punishments returning to her. She continued looking through the profiles, all of them following the same pattern. First a victim and then their murderer. Each one she read made her heart sink.

Chihiro Fujisaki, Super High School Level Programmer, head bashed in by a dumbbell. Mondo Oowada, Super High School Level Biker, executed. Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Super High School Level Hall Monitor, head bashed in by a mallet. Hifumi Yamada, Super High School Level Doujin Author, same fate. Celestia Ludenburg, Super High School Level Gambler, executed. Sakura Oogami, Super High School Level Martial Artist, suicide by poisoning. Mukuro Ikusaba, Super High School Level Soldier, punished by spear piercing. The final profile was too mangled to read, but it was definitely one for a dead student.

The worst part was that some of these students were in the pictures with Takara and her classmates. No, the worst part was that they watched these people kill each other. And that it left deep emotional scars on them. She looked back at the six profiles of the living students. Makoto Naegi, Super High School Level Good Luck. Kyouko Kirigiri, Super High School Level Detective. Byakuya Togami, Super High School Level Heir. Touko Fukawa, Super High School Level Writer. Aoi Asahina, Super High School Level Swimmer. Yasuhiro Hagakure, Super High School Level Fortune Teller. These students managed to survive. What happened to them afterwords though? The papers didn't explain anything about their fates. Did they live to tell the tale? Or did some of them die? Was there any way to know?

She pushed those thoughts aside and stuffed the contents back into their folder. The lights came back on. Pretty strange coincidence there. She looked at the other file and began to take out its contents. More papers. Another report. But this one was from Hope's Peak Academy. Once again she read it to herself, trying to take in the information of what was supposedly the end of the world as she knew it. But she couldn't prepare herself for the information she discovered.

It had all began in the very walls of Hope's Peak Academy itself. The members of the Student Council had killed each other.

**9 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't feel like writing all about the Tragedy, so the details will come another time.


	32. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Daily Life IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People really seem to like Masaru for some reason.

Takara barely slept after reading those files. She didn't want to believe what she had been reading for a second. Students murdered each other? The end of the world? That just couldn't be true! Even if she had memories taken away from her, there's no way the world had just ended like that! How the hell could that even be possible! She ended up spending the whole night reading, her mind constantly repeating her questions. She slowly walked down into the lobby, her hand holding her head. She'd need something to drink just to stay awake.

"Ah! Takara! Good morning!" A voice called out to her. She looked up to see Masaru coming over to her from the front desk. "I just got off the phone with Satoshi, he's doing alright. Nothing happened to him since he talked to Miyako, so there isn't anything to worry about."

"Oh, really? That's cool." Takara muttered, trying to crack a small smile.

"Yeesh, you on the other hand look terrible." Masaru said. "Are you okay? You look like you're gonna pass out!"

"I didn't sleep well last night..." Takara said with a groan. That was an understatement, but she didn't want to get him too worried.

"Ahh, I see." Masaru said, as if he understood what happened. "The storm must be keeping you awake too."

"Huh? Too?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, there's so much lightning and thunder that it's impossible for me to sleep well. And Kumiko's been freaking out too." Masaru explained. "I just hope this storm ends soon, you know? That way things can go back to normal again. Well, so to speak."

"...Yeah." Takara said, her head facing the floor.

"Hey, Takara. If there's anything troubling you, you can always talk to me, you know? I'm here to listen." Masaru said with a sad look on his face. "If it's something that's meant to be private, then I understand. But I wanna help you out if you let me."

"Um, thanks." Takara said.

"You need some help getting to the restaurant? You look like you're about to pass out." Masaru said. Takara nodded her head slowly. He took hold of her arm and lead her over to the restaurant. "Hey Kumiko! Make Takara here a cup of coffee, would you?"

The comic artist jumped up at the sound of her name. "Okie-dokie!" she said as she ran into the kitchen.

"Just take a seat here and wait for Kumiko to come back with her coffee." Masaru said. "I'll go get you something to eat. You want toast or natto? Or maybe some miso soup? I'll make whatever I can."

"It doesn't really matter to me. I'll take anything really." Takara said. "I'm not that hungry though, so nothing big."

"You got it!" Masaru smiled wide as he ran into the kitchen. Kumiko came out with two steaming cups of coffee soon after and sat down next to Takara. "Boy, I wonder why Marscapone is so happy!" she said. "Oh well! Here's your coffee!" She set the drink down in front of Takara.

"...Thanks, Kumiko." Takara said as she picked up the coffee and took a sip. A few minutes afterwords, as she started to wake up and feel a little more alert, Masaru came out with a small plate in his hands.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Please enjoy the food!" Masaru said. He set the plate down in front of Takara. A small roll in the shape of a swirl and covered in white icing was sitting on top of it. "It's called a cinnamon roll. I hope you like it." he said.

"It looks really good. I can't wait to try it." Takara said. "Thanks, Masaru."

"Oh, it's nothing." Masaru said, looking away from the journalist. "You just looked like you needed some help and I wanted to give it! Any decent person would do the same!"

"Marscapone, why're you acting so strange?" Kumiko asked as she tilted her head.

"Hey, I'm not acting strange." Masaru said, his arms crossed.

Kumiko gasped loudly. "OH MY GOD, I FIGURED IT OUT!" she shouted before bursting into laughter. "No way, you and Karins-"

"SHUT UP, KUMIKO!" Masaru shouted, his face going red.

"Hahahaha! Marscapone's a weirdo!" Kumiko said in a sing-song voice.

"Like you're one to talk!" Masaru said.

Takara giggled as she took a bite into the cinnamon roll. She smiled as she took in the flavor. It was really delicious. She wished Satoshi were there with them. Even if he was still mad at her, it would be better then being alone in that museum. Feeling more awake, she noticed something strange about the room. "Um, where's Arata?" she asked.

"He said he's got a headache." Miyako answered. "He'll get something to eat once it passes."

"Hmph, that's probably what he wants us to think." Ryouta said, earning a light punch from Kazumi. "OW! What the hell was that for?!"

"Ta shut ya up!" Kazumi said. "Miyazaki ain't da type ta fuckin' lie like dat! He might be kinda shifty, but come on! Jus' one in yer life try trustin' someone!"

Takara sighed in relief. She was worried something had happened to the designer. She found that she didn't want to return to her room after breakfast. Her mind was still trying to wrap itself around the information from those files. She needed some time to relax. Maybe someone would be willing to talk to her. She walked into the rec room, and to her luck found Kumiko there.

"Hiya Karins!" Kumiko said. She waved her arm wide at the journalist.

"Hey there." Takara said. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, no one wanted to play any games with me in the lounge!" Kumiko said, her cheeks puffed and her arms crossed. "So I figured I'd come and see if any secrets lie in here!"

"Any luck so far?" Takara asked.

"Nope." Kumiko sighed.

"Well if you want, I'll play some games with you." Takara said. "It's not like I got anything better to do."

"You mean it?" Kumiko asked. "Yahoo! Success!" She pumped her fist into the air. "Come on then, let's get going!" She grabbed Takara's hand and pulled her by the arm. This was going to take a while, that was already obvious. But it was still better than doing nothing.

\--------------------------------

Satoshi still couldn't believe just how spacious the museum was. If he wasn't careful, he was sure to get lost in this place. Thankfully there were maps at the information desk, so he kept one with him at all times. He found himself staying away from the history section, it just managed to remind him of his talent. The only time he went through there was so he could make his way to the cafe.

He was stuck here with his thoughts. Alone in this museum with no one else to talk to. All he had was the phone, and he could only talk with someone in the morning and before nighttime. All because he was being stupid. Because he couldn't separate the image he had of Takara from the real person. What was wrong with him?

"I don't blame her if she doesn't forgive me." he said to himself with a sigh. "I was acting like such a jerk."

"You said it, not me!" Satoshi turned to find Monokuma standing behind him.

"Monokuma? How long have you been here?" Satoshi asked.

"I've been following you after you ended your little chit-chat with the hotel gang!" Monokuma answered. "You sure do know how to sulk for someone who's optimistic!"

"Shut up." Satoshi said. "I'm trying to figure out my thoughts."

"Does figuring out your thoughts involve slowly walking around with a low head and arched back?" Monokuma asked.

"What do you want?" Satoshi asked.

"Nothing! I just wanted to watch you be alone and depressed!" Monokuma said with a laugh. "It's a shame you can't be there with the others, I have a feeling a murder is about to happen! But instead you're stuck here all by lonesome, where you have to live."

"...Don't remind me." Satoshi said as he slowly walked away. Some friend he was. He couldn't even stop a murder.

\------------------------------

After what felt like hours, the game finally ended. Kumiko laughed maniacally, reveling in her victory. "No one can beat the astounding champion, Kumiko!" she said.

"At least I can't." Takara said. "How'd you get so good at video games anyway?"

"I spend a lot of time playing them, duh!" Kumiko stated. "Games and my comics are the only thing I can focus on for long amounts of time!"

"You sure have a lot of comics in your room though." Takara said. "Why's that?"

"Research!" Kumiko said. "I always buy volumes of the most popular manga to see just what people like! And I have a good source of overseas comics too, so I can broaden my horizons even further! If I can find out what people like, then I'm sure to find ways to make my stuff more popular!"

"Tons of video games, stacks of comics, you almost sound like an otaku." Takara said with a laugh.

"Don't you _dare_ call me an otaku!" Kumiko shouted, slamming her fist on the couch. "Otaku are gross and slimy and pervy! And they spend all their time making those disgusting doujin comics! They make it impossible for people like me to be taken seriously! Just because I post my comics online doesn't make me one of those sweaty weirdos!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Takara said. "It's just that you sound like the kind of person who'd spend their day in Akihabara."

"The only reason I go to Akihabara is to pick up the most popular manga and to visit the arcades!!" Kumiko insisted, her face red. "I've never even been to a maid cafe!" Why would the maid cafe be the most important thing?

"People are gonna assume that you're there for other reasons though, your parents included." Takara said.

"No they don't." Kumiko said, her body drooping. "My parents don't pay attention to me at all."

"Huh? What's wrong with that?" Takara asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I know they work really, really hard and are busy from their jobs, but it doesn't mean I don't feel lonely coming to an empty house." Kumiko explained. "When I was a kid, my parents both got super amazing job offers in the city. So we moved and I had to talk to Chi-Chi through letters and stuff. Their jobs make them work all day long, so I only got to see them in the morning before I had to go to school. Whenever I got home, it'd be quiet and empty until it got dark. And even when they were home, they'd never talk to me. Even on Sunday it felt like I was home by myself instead of near my parents. But they're just trying hard to work their best to bring home the bacon! At least that's what I keep telling myself..."

"What's that mean? That is what they're doing isn't it?" Takara asked.

"I just think it's getting harder to tell myself that..." Kumiko said. "But that's not important right now! The thing is that they don't care where I go or what I do. But I guess that just means I have a ton of freedom!" Her mood instantly snapped back into her usual peppy self. "The only thing they seem to care about is if I take my meds! And they don't even make sure I do it all too much."

"But why do you think it's harder to believe that they're doing this for you? If you're gonna tell me this stuff it's best to tell me everything." Takara said.

"That can be saved for another time!"Kumiko insisted. "I don't need to spill out my guts to you all at once, you know!" She seemed pretty relaxed about all this. "Besides, I found a way to keep myself from being alone when I needed it most, but I could only do it for so long."

"Why's that?" Takara asked.

"Nope, my lips are super sealed!" Kumiko said, making a zipping motion over her mouth. "I gotta get going, my work is never, ever done! See ya later, Karins!" She skipped out the door. That girl was a strange one.

Takara walked back outside the lobby, still not feeling up to returning to her room. There had to be someone else who she could talk to. She walked upstairs to the hotel rooms and knocked on one of the door. It quickly opened. "Takara, what's up?" Masaru asked.

"You doing anything right now?" Takara asked.

"No, I'm free." Masaru insisted. "You, uh, wanna come in?"

"Sure." Takara said. Masaru moved out of her way so that she could enter. The room was fitting of a patisserie. Cookbooks were resting on the desk, and cooking supplies were lying on the nightstands. She wasn't surprised by any of this. She glanced at a picture on the wall. In it was Masaru in front of his family's bakery, but someone else was standing next to him. A girl around his age was wearing a similar chef's uniform and smiling wide, her arm around his shoulders. "Who's this? A girlfriend of yours that works at the bakery?"

"Hm?" Masaru walked over to where the picture was and looked at it. "Oh no, no, no! She's not my girlfriend!" he said. "That's my twin sister, Masami!"

"You have a twin sister?" Takara asked. She looked back at the picture and took a closer look at the girl. "Yeah, the two of you look similar."

"We're a tag team back at the bakery." Masaru said. "I'd bake the food and she'd decorate them! The two of us make quite a pair in the kitchen. Seriously, you should see the cakes we've made, they're the best in all Japan!"

"Well if those cream puffs you made before are any indication, I have no choice but to believe you!" Takara said.

"We were raised in the bakery all our lives, yet I was the one who picked up the baking skills. But hey, she can make anything look tasty. I'm surprised that she didn't get accepted to the school as the Super High School Level Cake Decorator." Masaru said. "Then again, I guess considering our situation, it's a good thing she didn't get accepted."

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Takara asked.

"Well yeah." Masaru said, turning away his head and glancing at the floor. "Monokuma said he had control of the bakery, so who knows what that means about my family and the people who work there."

"Hey, I'm sure she's alright." Takara said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"B-but what if she isn't?" Masaru asked. "I d-dunno what I'd do if something h-happened to her!"

"Calm down, don't get too worked up over it!" Takara said.

"I can't help it!" Masaru said. "She's part of the reason I got accepted in the first place, we're going to open that restaurant together! I'm no one without her help!"

"That's not true at all!" Takara said. "I've eaten your food the whole time we've been here, and let me tell you it tastes and looks amazing! And you didn't need your sister for that!"

"It's not just that though!" Masaru said. "Masami and I..." He didn't say anything further, staring down at his feet.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't know this was going to strike a nerve-" Takara said.

"Don't worry about it, you didn't know. It isn't your fault..." Masaru said. "I'm sorry, but I think I need to be alone for a while... This is something I'm not willing to talk about just yet..."

"Hey, I understand. I'll just get going. See you later." Takara said.

"Yeah..." Masaru said. Takara walked out of his room feeling guilty. What had happened between him and his sister to make him so worried? Whatever the case, it wasn't her problem. If Masaru wanted to tell her, then he would. It wasn't her business to pry into his matters.

"Ahem, to all of the patrons staying at our lovely Paradise Resort, it is now 10 p.m! It is officially nighttime! The stores will close and the restaurant doors will be locked momentarily. I hope you all have sweet dreams tonight!" Monokuma's announcement played. Fatigue returned to Takara. Oh well, she was gonna have to go back to her room eventually. Hopefully she'd be able to get some sleep tonight.

She began to head to her room, until she heard the sound of another door open. Who was leaving their room at this time of night? Before she could figure out who it was, the lights went out. Oh great, this was the perfect time for a power outage! She tried to regain her bearings as she heard the sound of another door opening. Why was everyone leaving their rooms?! "Hey, stop!" she called out, but received no answer. The sound of rushing footsteps went past her. The lights turned back on, but Takara was alone. Worried, she rushed out to the lobby and looked down. But no one was there. It was completely empty. Did one of them hear her coming? No, that couldn't be, she made sure to be quiet even as she ran. With no other choice, she made her way back to her room. She had a bad feeling about this. Something was about to happen.

**9 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	33. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Daily Life V

Takara was afraid to go to breakfast. After hearing the sounds of doors opening last night, she was afraid that there'd be one less person with them. She couldn't help but feel nervous. A shiver went down her spine as she entered the lobby. Masaru wasn't at the front desk and the phone wasn't ringing, meaning that the call had already ended. Hopefully. She stood in front of the restaurant entrance and took some deep breaths, hoping she could calm herself down. It was probably nothing, and she was probably wrong. No one was dead, everyone was okay, things would be just fine. She walked inside, hoping her fears would be proven true.

"Oh, good morning, Takara." Minoru said with a wave. "Are you feeling alright? You look kinda tense." Looking inside, Takara saw Minoru, Ryouta, and Miyako sitting at their own tables.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Takara said. "I'm just feeling a bit stressed by this storm."

"You're not the only one. The weather's been affecting a lot of us it feels like." Minoru said, a cough escaping. "Why don't you sit down with me for a minute and relax before you make your breakfast? I could use a bit of company." He motioned her over with his hand. Takara walked over and sat down beside him.

An overwhelming scent filled through the room. She tried to get a good whiff of it, but she couldn't figure it out. "Hey, what's that smell?" she asked.

"People making breakfast." Miyako answered as she took a sip from a cup of tea. "I think someone's making grilled fish, and someone else is making sausages. The smells are all coming together and are spreading through the room. It should go away soon."

"So the others are in the kitchen then." Takara said. Phew, that's a relief.

"Yeah, so what if they are?" Ryouta asked.

"I was just worried someone was killed." Takara said.

"Why are you worried about that?" Minoru asked, another cough coming out.

"I heard some doors opening when I was headed back to my room last night." Takara explained. "It was right after the nighttime announcement. The power went out so I didn't see anyone, but I heard them. Two people left their rooms."

"We're all alive though." Ryouta said. "Surprisingly."

"Why do you care? You're usually the one who's complaining that we're all gonna kill you or something." Takara said.

"Perhaps he's having a change of heart." Minoru said. He took a sip of his smoothie drink and coughed loudly. "This one tastes a bit odd. I should check the date on it." he muttered to himself. "Anyway, I think he's starting to realize that he shouldn't doubt us so easily. It'd be nice for him to feel safe around us."

"...I'll admit, maybe I've been wrong to judge like that." Ryouta said, his arms crossed as he looked away. "I'm not about to trust you all so blindly, but if we've been trapped in this stupid hotel for as long as we have and no bodies have shown up, then I may need to rethink my outlook a little."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Takara said.

Minoru continued to cough, and it even sounded like he was gagging. What the hell was wrong with him? "Minoru? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Takara asked.

"I...I don't.....know...." Minoru said in between the coughing.

"You stay here, I'm gonna get you some water!" Takara said. She bolted up from her chair and ran to the kitchen door. But before she made it, the lights went out. Leaving them in pitch, black, darkness. "Seriously?! A power outage right now?!" Takara shouted. She tried to feel through her bag, only to find that she forgot to grab her flashlight. Terrific. This is _just_ what she needed! "Did anyone in here bring a flashlight?"

"No." Miyako stated, speaking up a bit to be heard over the coughing.

"I left mine in my room!" Ryouta shouted with fear.

Great, just great. She had no way to see where she was going. Takara slowly felt her way around the tables and chairs, using the smell of food as her guide to the kitchen. Minoru's coughing and gagging was getting worse by the second, she could hear it. Suddenly, she heard the kitchen doors open. "Hey, are you guys alright in here?" Masaru called out.

"Can't you hear the fucking coughing fit Minoru is having?!" Ryouta shouted.

"Oh geez, that sounds terrible!" Masaru said. "We're trying to find a flashlight in here, so just hang on!"

Takara could hear more voices coming from the kitchen. "Son of a bitch! I was almost done cookin' my fuckin' fish!" Kazumi shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! The crows have thrown our world into darkness! And we don't have the Legendary Chicken Suits! What are we gonna do?! I don't wanna be in the dark like this!" Kumiko yelled.

"All of you need to calm down! The lights will come back in a moment." Arata said.

Minoru tried to speak, but nothing but gasps were coming out. Was he having trouble breathing or something? That just made the risk even higher. Takara tried to make her way to the kitchen once again, only to be knocked over by someone coming out of the same room. Who was coming out with no light to guide them?! A loud crack of thunder filled her ears, causing Kumiko to scream. People started shouting and screaming all at once, everything was being thrown into chaos. "Everyone, be quiet!" Takara shouted at the top of her lungs. All sounds in the room went silent. "This isn't the way to act in an outage! We have to stay calm!"

"Wait a minute... Is it me, or did things get _too_ quiet?" Ryouta asked. Takara was about to tell him that it was good that things were like that, but then she realized just how quiet it really was. Minoru had stopped coughing.

"Minoru! Are you okay?! Answer me!" she shouted into the room. She received no answer. This was bad. Really really bad. Her face began to get sweaty. What if something had happened to him? She hoped that she was wrong, that the veterinarian was okay, that what she suspected didn't happen. But as the lights returned, so did her fears. There was a scream from someone, she couldn't tell who, but it was shortly joined by her own as she saw what lied before her.

Minoru Yoshihara was slumped down on the floor. Two puddles were on the floor beside him. The first was near his mouth, and looked almost mucous-like. The second was from the smoothie he had been drinking, the bottle right next to it. His lips were an unnatural red color, and from a brief glance it looked like the inside of his mouth wasn't doing so good either. But the most shocking part was the large knife sticking out of his back, blood pooling out of the wound.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voice rang through the room. "After a brief investigation period, which you may use however you like, we will begin our class trial." The other four students came out of the kitchen and starred at the body. Takara realized something at that moment. All of them, sans Satoshi, were in the restaurant this whole time. No one had an alibi. Any one of them could have killed Minoru. But as it stood, there was no way to know who.

**8 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this part seemed short, but there wasn't much I could do to make it longer. I'll get the investigation started later this week, but I'll need some time to figure everything out so don't expect one until the end of the week or something.


	34. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Deadly Life I (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had hoped to get this part out a bit sooner, but I've been sick for the past few days now and I still am, which has put a damper on my writing. I tried to do the best I could with this, though being sick might have messed up my creativity a little bit so this might not be as good as normal. But I'd rather get this out now then wait until I'm better. I'm not super sick anyway.

"Okay how da fuck did Minoru kick da bucket?!" Kazumi asked, her hands shaking. "He was fine a second ago!"

"Someone must have taken advantage of the power outage so they could commit murder." Arata said.

"Which means any one of us is the culprit!" Ryouta shouted.

"How on Earth are we supposed to figure out who did it like this?" Masaru asked. "I mean, it was completely dark when it happened!"

"Shouldn't it be obvious? You investigate, duh!" Monokuma appeared behind the group. "If it's knowing who the culprit is that's bugging you, then relax! I saw everything with my night vision!"

"You have night vision?" Kumiko asked, eyes wide.

"Well of course I do! What, you thought I wouldn't want to know if a murder took place just because the power went out?" Monokuma asked. "Jeez, you kids are stupid!"

"Wait a minute! What about Satoshi?" Takara asked.

"What about him?" Monokuma asked.

"He's supposed to take part in the investigation like the rest of us, isn't he? Then you have to bring him over here!" Takara said.

"Wellllll... I guess I could bring him back over here. But it's gonna take a while!" Monokuma said. "And it's only because we need a full cast for the show to be complete! But before I go, I should give you bastards this!" He pulled out the Monokuma File and handed it to everyone. "I'll give Satoshi's to him once I find him. Anyway, good luuuuuck!" The bear vanished.

"Well, we better get started." Masaru said. "Kazumi, Arata, why don't you guys guard the body again?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Kazumi said.

"Very well." Arata said as he brushed something off of his right arm.

"So the rest of us will investigate." Miyako stated.

"And Toshi can join us later!" Kumiko said.

"Then there's no time to waste, we should get started." Takara said. As everyone went to their positions, Takara opened up the Monokuma File to see what the details for this case were.

**The victim is Minoru Yoshihara. He was found in the restaurant. His lips have suffered burns, and there is a wound that was delivered after his death. Death was slow and gradual, and there are traces of a foreign substance in the body.**

What the hell? This wasn't useful at all! The time and cause of death weren't even here! Oh well, the former wasn't important since just about everyone had been there at the time of death. But they needed to know how he died! She sighed. Perhaps the investigation could shed some light on the subject. She went over to the body, seeing Ryouta standing next to it. "What's got you so interested?" she asked.

"The Monokuma File, as unhelpful as it was, mentioned that there was a foreign substance in the body." Ryouta said, his eye twitching. "I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"How would you know? You don't have medical training, do you?" Takara asked.

"No, but I _do_ know enough about poisonous substances to figure out what the cause might be!" Ryouta snapped.

"...Why do you know about poisons?" Takara asked.

"I work with plants, you idiot! Some of which are _poisonous_! When working with potentially poisonous flora, you'd want to know which ones are poisonous, what the causes are, and how to cure them." Ryouta explained.

"So you think he was poisoned or something?" Takara asked.

"If you would let me finish working then _maybe_ I'd know!" Ryouta shouted.

"Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone." Takara said. She looked at the spilled drink on the floor, picking the bottle up. "It's a shame he didn't get the chance to finish this." she said to herself. She leaned forward to pick it up, but paused as she caught a strange scent in the air. She looked at the puddle and sniffed around it. This definitely wasn't how a smoothie was supposed to smell like. Even so, it smelled familiar. But she couldn't figure out what it was.

She glanced at the other puddle on the floor beside Minoru. Where could this have come from? What even was it?

"Hmm, it looks to me like this is stomach acid." Arata said, looking down at the substance on the ground.

"What? Stomach acid? How can this be stomach acid?" Takara asked.

"Someone, most likely Yoshihara, must have thrown up while nothing was in their system." Arata explained. "If he had the flu or food poisoning, then eventually all the retching would get rid of the food he ate. But he'd still feel the need to vomit, and so the stomach acid came out instead."

"But it didn't look like Minoru had either the flu or food poisoning." Takara said.

"He didn't specifically need either of those conditions to vomit it up." Arata continued. "Anything could've caused it really. Even stress. Was Yoshihara acting odd before the power went out?"

"Well, he started coughing and gagging suddenly." Takara recalled. "I was on my way to the kitchen to get him some water when the lights went out."

"So that's what that noise was." Arata said.

"You could hear it from the kitchen?" Takara asked.

"Yes, it was awfully loud." Arata answered. "Nishioka was going to check what was happening before the lights went out."

"I just didn't think it was that loud." Takara said.

"Whatever had caused that must have been damaging." Arata said.

Takara turned her attention to the knife in Minoru's back. It looked like it came from the kitchen. Was this what killed him? She couldn't see anything else that looked like the weapon. But why leave it here? Wouldn't it have benefited the culprit more if they tried to get rid of it? She needed to make sure that the knife came from the kitchen. Someone would definitely recognize it.

She began to make her way towards the kitchen, until she spotted Kumiko sitting at a table with a pencil in her hands. The comic artist was starring at a piece of paper in front of her. Walking closer, Takara could see that Kumiko had made a makeshift map of the restaurant and kitchen. "What's got you thinking so hard?" Takara asked.

"I'm trying to figure some stuff out." Kumiko said, tapping the pencil against her head. "The first thingy is where everyone was before the world went all black. All I know is that Toshi wasn't here." She drew a circle on top of a triangle outside of the map, labeling it as "Toshi" and mentioning that he was at the museum. "I'm gonna guess Yoshi was over there where his body's lying." She drew the same circle and triangle, but positioning it sideways and drawing a knife sticking out of him, and labeled this one "Yoshi".

"Well, weren't you, Masaru, Kazumi, and Arata all in the kitchen?" Takara asked, trying to help her out.

"Yep." Kumiko said. "Marscapone was on his way to the door 'cause we heard coughing. I was over at this counter making some yummy toast! Kazu was at the stove cooking her fish. And the pervert was watching my sausage as it cooked, so he was at the stove too." She drew all the figures in the kitchen as she spoke, labeling them as "Marscapone", "Kumiko", "Kazu", and "Pervert".

"I can tell you where the rest of us were." Takara said. "You're right about Minoru, he didn't leave that spot. I was sitting next to him, but I had gotten up to get him some water from the kitchen. I'd guess I was about halfway there when the power went out." Kumiko drew a figure in the room and labeled it "Karins", adding an arrow behind her leading from the table Minoru was at. "Miyako and Ryouta were both sitting at their own tables. Ryouta was near the back, far away from the rest of us. Miyako was in the middle." Two more figures were added to the drawing. One near the back labeled "Ryose", and one in the center labeled "Mimiya".

"Teddie was probably here too!" Kumiko said. "If the power was out, he wouldn't be able to watch the murders from the cameras, so he had to come here to see who did it! Which means he had to be in the same room as you guys!" She scribbled down one final figure, coloring in the right half and giving it bear ears, and labeled it "Teddie".

"So with that in mind, we know where everyone was at the time the lights went out." Takara said. "What else are you trying to figure out?"

"How the culprit found Yoshi in the dark!" Kumiko exclaimed. "None of us have night vision, so there's no way they could've seen him in the dark!"

"That's true, a whole other mystery is opened with that problem." Takara said. "We can rule out a flashlight or candle, both of those would easily stick out."

"That and nobody could find one!" Kumiko added.

"Right. That too." Takara said. "What other means are there that could allow someone to see in the dark?"

"Oooo! I know! They used night vision goggles!" Kumiko suggested.

"I'm not so sure about that, Kumiko." The two girls turned their heads towards the entrance, seeing Satoshi standing there with Monokuma.

"Satoshi! You're back!" Takara said.

"There, I've done all I can do." Monokuma said as he walked away.

"Look, Kara-chan, I'm sorry about-" Satoshi tried to apologize.

"It doesn't matter right now, you idiot." Takara said, cutting him off. "We have more pressing issues to deal with."

"Right, the murder." Satoshi said.

"Why do you think my night vision goggles idea is wrong, Toshi?" Kumiko asked.

"Well, there's nowhere in this place you could hide them in, and wearing them would make you stand out like a sore thumb." Satoshi explained. "It would make you seem suspicious."

"Then how did the culprit navigate through the room?" Takara asked.

"I'm not sure. I wasn't here." Satoshi nervously laughed. "What happened when the lights went dark?"

"Let's see..." Takara said, trying to recall what she heard. "Well, I kinda shouted out in anger since I was trying to find my way to the kitchen. I asked if anyone had a flashlight, and both Miyako and Ryouta said they didn't. I kept trying to find my way to the kitchen just by feeling, while using the smell of food to help me get there. I heard the kitchen doors open, and Masaru called out to ask if we were okay. Ryouta told him about how Minoru was coughing and gagging, and then Masaru said they were looking for a flashlight. I heard Kazumi, Kumiko, and Arata shouting from where they were in the kitchen. I kept trying to go to the kitchen, since it sounded like Minoru was getting worse, and got knocked over by someone coming out. Then there was a lot of thunder, causing Kumiko to start screaming, and soon everyone was shouting and screaming at once. I yelled at everyone to be quiet and calm down, and everyone stopped. Ryouta pointed out that it sounded too quiet, and it hit me that Minoru had stopped coughing. I called out to him hoping he was alright, but I didn't get an answer. Then the lights came on, and we found Minoru dead."

"I see..." Satoshi said. "Well, I'm no expert on these things, but maybe the culprit didn't use sight to guide them?"

"Huh? What are you saying?" Kumiko asked.

"They could've used another sense to guide them." Satoshi suggested. "Like hearing, touch, or smell."

"Probably not the last one." Takara said. "All you could smell was the meat being cooked in the kitchen."

"So they either used hearing or touch." Satoshi said.

"Oh yeah, have you read the Monokuma File?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, though it isn't helpful." Satoshi said. "You mind telling me what you've found?"

"No problem." Takara said. She quickly went over what she had found so far, along with her theories. She mentioned the knife, Ryouta's examination, and the two puddles on the ground.

"A strange smell from his smoothie?" Satoshi asked. "What did it smell like?"

"It's better if you see for yourself." Takara said. She brought him over to the body, and the spilled smoothie. The two leaned down next to the puddle, and the archeaologist sniffed it.

"You're right, this isn't something you'd smell in a smoothie." Satoshi said. "Plus it does seem familiar. Maybe some further investigation would help."

"I was about to go look in the kitchen, wanna join me?" Takara asked.

"Sure, I'd love to." Satoshi said. The two of them walked into the kitchen, the smell of fish and sausage still heavy in the air. Nothing seemed off about the room, except for the fact that a certain guard was in there.

"Kazumi, you're supposed to be guarding the body!" Takara said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'." Kazumi said. "I jus' wanted ta get my food first. I'm fuckin' hungry! Plus, my fish was almost done anyway. I ain't lettin' it go ta waste."

"That girl and her food." Takara whispered to herself.

"Awright, now I jus' gotta cut dis up an'... Hey, where's my fuckin' knife?!" Kazumi said.

"Your knife?" Satoshi asked.

"I left a knife out here so I could cut up my fish, but it's gone!" Kazumi explained. "I left it right dere on dat counter next ta da stove!"

"Maybe that knife was used as the weapon." Takara said.

"Did it happen to look like the one currently stuck into Minoru?" Satoshi asked.

"Now dat ya mention it, yeah! It does!" Kazumi said.

"Then I think that's where you'll find it." Satoshi said.

"Aw hell nah! Someone used my knife ta stab Yoshihara?!" Kazumi said. "Alright, dat's it, whoeva's da murderer is fuckin' dead for ruinin' my breakfast!" The vocalist stormed out of the kitchen.

"Her priorities are messed up." Takara said.

"Well at least we know she wants to find the culprit as much as we do." Satoshi said. The two found Masaru leaning down near the fridge. They walked over and saw him looking at a small, clear puddle on the ground.

"What's this stuff on the floor?" Takara asked.

"Oh, hi Takara!" Masaru said with a smile, turning his head to see Satoshi standing next to her. "Oh... Satoshi's back already." He looked down at his feet. Okay, what was that all about?

"Yeah, I'm doing okay." Satoshi said with an innocent smile. "So what's this stuff on the ground?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean this puddle?" Masaru asked. "To tell you the truth, I'm not so sure either. I found this here before the power outage started. I was going to take a closer look at it until I heard Minoru's coughing. When the investigation started, I decided to take a look at it and see if it was useful."

"Anything so far?" Takara asked.

"Not really." Masaru replied. "There's a weird smell coming from it, but that's all."

"Wait, a weird smell?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeah, why's that important?" Masaru asked.

Takara leaned down and took a sniff of the liquid. It was the same smell as the smoothie, but it seemed stronger. "It's the same smell!" she said.

"The same smell as what?" Masaru asked.

"Minoru's smoothie had this same smell to it." Takara said.

"Hmm... I wonder..." Satoshi said. He opened the fridge, taking out a few other smoothies that had been placed inside. He removed the caps on each of them, taking in a brief whiff of each one. "They all have this smell." he stated.

"So what is it then?" Takara asked.

"It definitely isn't water. I know that much." Masaru said.

"Water... Of course! That's it!" Satoshi exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. "Kara-chan, come with me! I know where I've smelled this before!"

"What? Really?" Takara asked.

"Yes! Now come on! I promise that it's not the laundromat!" Satoshi said. The two of them ran out of the kitchen, and to what Takara hoped was the key to solving this mystery.

**8 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	35. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Deadly Life II (Investigation)

The two ran out of the restaurant and into the lobby. Takara had no idea where Satoshi was planning on taking her, but if he had a clue of some sort it was worth checking out. Satoshi went into the boys locker room. Huh? The locker rooms? Why would they need to go here? Takara followed through the girls locker room, coming out in the pool area. Before she could ask Satoshi why he brought her here, the scent of the room filled her nostrils. Normally, she wouldn't pay much mind of it, but this smell was nearly the same. This is what she smelled on the kitchen floor and in Minoru's smoothies! She knew what this was called, it was right on the tip of her tongue.

"Chlorine. You noticed it too, huh?" Takara turned to see Miyako had materialized behind her once again. How was that girl so quiet in the first place?

"Noticed it?" Takara asked.

"Near the body and in the kitchen." Miyako added. "The heavy meat smell made it hard to notice."

"You can't help but wonder if that was done on purpose." Satoshi said.

"Well, we don't have a way to know." Takara said. "So you think the culprit took some pool water or something?"

"No, Masaru told us that it wasn't water." Satoshi said. "But that's not the only thing chlorine is found in."

"Cleaning products use them, especially those with bleach in them." Miyako said.

"What? Most bleach doesn't have chlorine in it though." Takara said.

"Maybe in Japan, but other places in the world use chlorine bleach all the time." Satoshi explained. "And it's not like chlorine bleach is completely nonexistent here, you know."

"True, true. So someone put chlorine in Minoru's smoothies." Takara said. "But where did they get it from if they didn't use the pool water?"

"This might help." Miyako said. She pulled out what looked like a hastily torn off label and handed it to Takara. "I found it hanging out of the kitchen's trash can." The journalist carefully examined the label. A small oval shape on the label indicated that it was bleach, and another section had a warning that it included chlorine.

"Do you know where the container for this is?" Takara asked.

"No." Miyako bluntly stated.

"Oh well, it's a start. Now we know what that smell was." Satoshi said.

"But why would someone put this in Minoru's drinks? And when did they do it?" Takara asked. "Hold on, I need to go check Minoru's room for something."

"Right behind you, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. The two left the pool and went into the lobby, quickly making their way upstairs. They opened the unlocked door to Minoru's hotel room and went inside. Takara ignored the look of the room and went straight for the mini-fridge. She opened it, finding more smoothies inside.

"Minoru mentioned that he put half of the smoothies in the kitchen fridge, and kept the rest with him." Takara explained. "I need to check these to see if there's any bleach in them as well." She grabbed around six bottles and set them down on the desk. She opened each of the caps and took a quick whiff in each bottle. The smell of chlorine wasn't in any of them. The culprit had been relying on Minoru drinking one of the smoothies in the kitchen. "These are clean." she told Satoshi.

"That makes sense. The only way someone else could enter is if they were his neighbor, and that's impossible since I've been gone this whole time." Satoshi said.

"That's all I'm gonna find here." Takara said. "You should probably go off on your own for a while. I have a feeling the trial's gonna start soon and you deserve a chance to examine the body for yourself."

"Good idea." Satoshi said. "I guess I'll see ya at the trial!" He walked out of the room, leaving Takara alone. Feeling guilty, the journalist took the drinks she grabbed out of the fridge and placed them in her bag. She was about to leave when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Sitting on the nightstand was a strange book. She looked at the name of the book as she picked it up.

"Hope's Peak Academy Student Profiles"

What was Minoru doing with this?! No, now wasn't the time to ask questions. She stuffed the book in her bag and left the room. She didn't have much time left, at least that's what her gut told her. There was one more thing she needed to check before the trial started. She returned downstairs and went into the kitchen. Scaning around the room, she found Ryouta sitting down at a table. "You all done with your examination?" she asked.

"No, I was just sitting here because I feel tired!" Ryouta said. "Of course I finished my examination! Though I didn't get much out of it."

"Well, what did you get?" Takara asked.

"First of all, I'm no doctor, so I can't go too deep into him to find out what exactly happened." Ryouta explained. "I had to work with what I could see. But from the looks of it, he was definitely poisoned. He probably didn't even know it until it was too late. There's no way for me to know when he was poisoned though. It could've been during the time the lights were out, or it could've been before."

"How long were the lights out for anyway?" Takara asked.

"They went out around 7:30." Ryouta said. "If I had to estimate, it was around fifteen to twenty minutes before the lights came back. Wait a mintue, why am I telling you this?! Can't you read a clock?!"

"I wasn't paying attention at the time." Takara admitted.

"I shouldn't even be talking to you! No one except that Satoshi has an alibi, so any one of you is the culprit for all I know!" Ryouta shouted, pointing a finger at the journalist.

Takara sighed. "You're a broken record, aren't you?" She walked away and made her way to the kitchen. She wanted to find the container for the bleach. Hopefully it was still here. The label was, so the container had to be as well, right? Before she could open the door, the sound of the monitor turning on caught her attention. She really hated seeing that stupid footage of Monokuma relaxing all the time.

"Time stops for no man, and no bear while we're at it." Monokuma said. "And unfortunately for you, the time to investigate has come to a close. Even though the storm outside has ended, the storms inside all of you are still raging in your search for the culprit. Anyway, I think it's time we begin, don't you? Please proceed down the path behind the hotel and report to the mountain, alrighty?" The monitor shut off.

Just as she thought, the investigation was already over. Oh well, the bottle wasn't needed she supposed. Hopefully what she found was enough to discover the culprit. She walked outside, the storm gone just as the bear had said. It seemed to disappear pretty quickly, which only further proved the idea that their "headmaster" was behind it all along. She walked down the path and entered the clearing, all the other students waiting there for her.

"It's like dere weren' even a storm in da first place..." Kazumi said.

"I know, there aren't even any puddles I can go splash in!" Kumiko said, her arms crossed against her chest. Why was she so disappointed in that?

"This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger, huh?" Masaru asked.

"It's only strange if you hold on to your obsolete sense of what's normal!" Monokuma said. "You all continue to hold on to the values of the world you once lived in, which you should've long forgotten by now! Yet you keep clinging to it desperately, which is why you're going through this scenario once again."

"I don't believe we asked for a speech on whatever it is you're talking about." Ryouta said with a scowl.

"But it's true, you know! The amount of actors has already dropped to half!" Monokuma said. "And after this, it'll drop below that!" Takara glanced around the clearing, realizing that he was right. Sixteen of them had arrived at this resort, but only eight of them were left standing. Even though the amount of empty chairs continued to grow, it hadn't felt like so many of them had been lost.

"If that's your attempt at trying to bring us down, it's not gonna work." Satoshi said. "We miss all of our friends, it's true, but we're still here because they'd want us to keep on going for them. And if that means having to persecute one more of us, then that's what we have to do."

"That was pretty corny." Miyako stated.

"...You didn't have to say that." Satoshi said.

"That was more than corny, it was downright cliched!" Monokuma said. "I'm getting out of here before Teruya gets worse. I'll be waiting at the trial room, so hurry up and head into the cave so we can begin!" He vanished.

"I can't help but wonder how he's able to do that." Arata said.

"No time to wonder about that, we need to get going." Takara said. The students entered the cave and made their way towards the platform. Just as Monokuma said, half of their original number were going in, but less than that would be leaving. It was anyone's guess as to who the culprit was this time. No one had an alibi except for Satoshi, so anyone could've done it. Reaching the platform, they all gathered onto it in silence. Masaru pressed the button and they moved forward.

Minoru wasn't the kind of person who seemed like a target, and yet someone decided to end his life. He tried to take responsibility and looked out for the others, and now he was dead. The storm wasn't truly over, as it still lingered in their hearts. They would find Minoru's killer no matter what. The platform slowly stopped at the docking station, allowing all of them to get off. The group stood in front of the doors, hesitating to open it. They had already suffered this three times, must they really go through it all a fourth time? They had no choice, leaving the answer as a "yes". Taking in a deep breath, Takara pushed the doors open, trying to erase her worries. Everyone walked inside as the curtains revealed the fourth trial of life and death.

**8 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going to be a while before the trial starts getting uploaded. I'm only halfway through it, which just isn't like me. Once it's done, I'll start uploading the parts. If all goes well, I can start uploading it in a couple days.


	36. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Class Trial I

The eight students entered the courtroom, becoming tired of the constant appearance changes. This time around, the walls had been stylized so they looked like dice and playing cards were popping out. The floor was covered in a green carpet, while the podiums were set on top of what looked like a giant roulette wheel. Flashing neon lights were everywhere, and the screen above Monokuma's throne was set up to look like a slot machine. It was probably Monokuma's attempt to set a mood, but it just came off as obnoxious and irritating. It's not like they didn't know the gamble they were placing on their lives.

"This is starting to get completely aggravating." Ryouta said.

"Indeed. Your design choices are garish and ugly." Arata said, his inner designer shining through. "Not once have I seen this room look stylish at all."

"Ah come on, I just know you kids love how I spruce the place up!" Monokuma said. "It's like seeing the set of a play for the first time, right?"

"No, pretty sure we don't." Takara said.

"If anythin', da only feelin' I get is anger from bein' in here with dese changes." Kazumi said.

"Some people just don't understand true genius when they see it!" Monokuma said. "Fine, just go take your places so we can begin!"

Glad that they didn't have to talk with their sadistic headmaster any further, everyone took their spot at the podiums. As usual, two new photo stands had been added. Next to Takara was Shizuka's picture, which had a customized X just like the past culprits. This time it was in the form of two dripping paintbrushes. And in-between Kazumi and Satoshi was Minoru's photo, still smiling through the X like nothing was wrong. Half of their frinds were gone now, but there would still be one more of them lost after this.

"I shall now explain the rules of the Class Trial to you all." Monokuma said. Takara tried to hold back a sigh. This was starting to get annoying too. "Your goal here is to weed out the student who broke the order of our little vacation. If the innocent can successfully determine who the guilty party is, then only the one who committed the crime will be punished by yours truly. But if you all vote an innocent as the killer, then the punishment shall be delivered to all of the innocent students! And the guilty little shit will be allowed to leave our wonderful Paradise Resort! Now then, let's begin!"

"Alrighty! So the victim was Minoru Yoshihara!" Kumiko began, rereading the facts for everyone as she did before. She seemed to have taken Shigeru's place permanently, but had dropped the imitation she used before. "He was found in the restaurant! His lips have suffered burns, and a wound was delivered after his death! Death was slow and gradual, and there are trace of a foreign substance in his body! That's all we know about this case!"

"The cause of death was left out this time around." Arata said. "If you ask me, that seems suspicious. The time of death is absent as well, but considering all of us were there we can easily figure out the time he died."

"Actually, I'm an exception to that." Satoshi added, raising his hand. "As you all know, the storm kept me trapped in the museum while you were stuck in the hotel. And since I couldn't leave the building, I guess that serves as my alibi."

"Either way, the cause of death being kept from us must be important." Masaru said. "So we should probably discuss that first. Along with the time of death."

"It'll also help me, since I wasn't there when the murder took place." Satoshi said.

"We don't have much else to start from." Takara said. "So yeah, we should go there first."

"The death time is super duper easy! It happened at breakfast!" Kumiko said, pumping a fist into the air.

"Well duh, we already know dat." Kazumi said. "But we dunno da exact time he died!"

"He was still alive during the power outage, but once the lights came back on he was dead." Takara said. "So obviously, he was killed during the power outage."

"Wait, how can we be sure about that?" Satoshi asked. "Was there any evidence he was alive during the power outage?"

"You weren't there so I'm not gonna blame you, but Minoru was coughing pretty loudly before he died." Ryouta explained. "It was impossible not to have heard it in the restaurant or kitchen."

"And at one point during the outage, his coughing stopped suddenly." Miyako said. "So he was dead before it ended.

"The outage itself started at 7:30 am." Masaru said. "And it lasted for about fifteen or twenty minutes from the looks of it."

"Let's estimate the ending of the outage being at 7:45." Arata said. "So Yoshihara was killed between that fifteen minute time period."

"But what if the coughing was faked or something?" Kumiko asked. "We couldn't see nothing, so Yoshi or the meanie killer could've been playing a tape or something!"

"Where would the culprit have been able to get this tape?" Arata asked. "There's nowhere in the resort where one could be found."

"Even so, if someone did have a tape they'd need to record Minoru coughing beforehand." Takara said. "And honestly, that sounds pretty ridiculous." She stopped for a moment, the coughing would likely be important later on. She'd have to remember it later just in case.

"So there's no way he could've died before the outage?" Satoshi asked.

"No, Takara was right there next to him before the power went out." Ryouta said. "And he was alive and well."

"Dat is if ya don' count dat awful coughin' shit he was doin'." Kazumi clarified.

"Alright, so what about the cause of death?" Miyako asked.

"That knife in his back is pretty suspicious." Masaru said. "That seems to be the most likely candidate for the cause of death."

"It also saves us the trouble of finding out the murder weapon this time around!" Kumiko said.

"Seriously, he was jus' stabbed in da dark?" Kazumi asked. "Talk 'bout a cliched way ta kill 'im. Ain't da culprit got more creativity den dat?"

"They probably thought that creativity wouldn't matter with so many people gone." Ryouta said. "They could be as unoriginal as they pleased and not need to worry about it."

"Hold on, we shouldn't be so quick to say it was the knife." Takara said.

"Tsukuda, normally I find your insights fascinating, but what is this?" Arata asked. "The knife is right there, sticking out of his own back. Do you really think it isn't the murder weapon?"

"Well, it just seems too obvious." Takara said. "Not to mention it would seem to be pretty difficult to stab someone if the power was out."

"Too obvious? How on earth is it too obvious?" Ryouta asked.

"Um, why don't you elaborate on that?" Masaru asked. "You must have some reason for saying that it's not the weapon."

"First thing's first, let's talk about where this knife came from." Takara said.

"Huh? But where it comes from doesn't have to do with anything, does it?" Kumiko asked.

"Actually, it has a quite a lot to do with this case." Takara said.

"Well, just from looking at it, we can determine that it came from the kitchen." Arata said.

"It did. I think someone was using it too." Masaru said.

"Or rather, someone was about to use it." Takara said. "Isn't that right, Kazumi?"

"Yeah! Dat's da damn knife I got out so I could cut my fish!" Kazumi shouted. "It was fuckin' gone when I went ta grab it!"

"Wait, if it's from the kitchen and she's the one who grabbed it, doesn't that put a big target on Kazumi?!" Ryouta asked. "She could be lying for all we know!"

"If you'd let me finish, I could tell you why you're wrong." Takara said, glaring at Ryouta. The florist quickly noticed her stare and shut himself up. "Only four people were in the kitchen, and the culprit would need to have it once the lights went out. If they came from the kitchen, they'd need to do a hefty bit of navigating to make it to their target, but they had no way of seeing in the dark."

"No one was able ta find a flashlight, right?" Kazumi asked. "An' dere weren' no candles either."

"Even so, a source of light would give them away." Arata said. "Anyone would be able to see them."

"Hold up a second! What if they used night vision goggles or something?!" Ryouta asked.

"But no one here is wearing night vision goggles, and there's no real place to hide them in the restaurant." Takara said.

"Also, that would imply that the culprit knew there would be a power outage." Satoshi said. "And let's be honest, I doubt anyone knew there would be one."

"Well of course they wouldn't know!" Monokuma interjected. "The power outages happened at random, even I with all my worldly knowledge couldn't know it would happen!"

"So I don't think night vision goggles are the answer." Takara said. "If not even our 'headmaster', who set up this storm in the first place could figure them out, then there's no possible way one of the seven people in the restaurant would know."

"By the way, while I didn't know when the outages would hit, I certainly let that one last to see what would happen next!" Monokuma said.

"No one asked you, Teddie!" Kumiko said, leaning forward to the point where she nearly stumbled as she pointed at the bear.

"So you're saying that Minoru couldn't have been stabbed to death because there's no way they could navigate?" Masaru asked.

"Not exactly." Takara said. "There's one other factor, and it's in the Monokuma file."

"Huh? How does da file tell us dat?" Kazumi asked.

"In two ways, actually." Takara said. "The first is that it mentions Minoru's death was slow. Being stabbed by a knife like that wouldn't be a slow death."

"And what would the second way be, Tsukuda?" Arata asked.

"It also mentions that he was wounded after he died. And I think Ryouta can back me up on this one." Takara said.

"Hold on a second, why're you dragging me into this?!" Ryouta asked.

"You were examining the body, right?" Takara asked, ignoring his question.

"Well, yeah. But not for those reasons." Ryouta said.

"But aside from the knife wound, did you find any other wounds inflicted recently?" Satoshi asked.

The florist paused to recollect his thoughts. "No. The only one I found was the one left by the knife." Ryouta grumbled.

"So Yoshi didn't die from being stabbed!" Kumiko said. "But how'd he die then if not the knife?"

"And why's there a knife sticking out of his back in the first place?!" Ryouta asked.

"Maybe ta take us off da trail or somethin'?" Kazumi suggested. "Dat spnf of a bitch who killed 'im might've done it ta trick us an' hide da real fuckin' cause of death."

"So what did kill him?" Miyako asked.

"Oooooooo! What if his mouth has something to do with it!" Kumiko said. "It was all weird-looking and stuff!"

"It did look like it was burned." Satoshi said. "But how did that happen?"

"The Monokuma File said that there was a foreign substance inside him. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Masaru asked.

"But what kinda stuff got into Yoshi? And without him knowing it?" Kumiko asked.

"If he didn't know it was there, that means it was slipped into something else Yoshihara came into contact with." Arata said.

"Considerin' it's Yoshihara we're talkin' 'bout, I wouldn' be shocked if the shithead was convinced ta take it." Kazumi said. "Fucker's got no spine an' all."

"Maybe it was something he ate?" Miyako asked. "It'd be easy to slip something in his food."

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Minoru hadn't eaten anything, the puddle of stomach acid on the floor is proof of that."

"Stomach acid?" Miyako asked.

"Well, dere was some vomit on da floor." Kazumi recalled. "Is dat wha'chu mean?"

"Why did it have to be vomit?" Masaru said, his face turned pale as he clutched his stomach. "I hate vomit..."

"That bile is only regurgitated when the stomach is empty, yet the body needs to retch." Arata explained. "If Yoshihara hadn't eaten anything, it would only make sense that he'd vomit up stomach acid."

"Plus, he hadn't touched his food yet." Ryouta said. "Besides, Minoru usually made his own meals, remember? He's a vegetarian, so he wouldn't let just anyone do something to his food."

"Hold on a sec!" Kazumi shouted. "If he hadn' eaten, den how'd he get dat weird shit in 'im?"

"While he hadn't eaten anything, he was definitely drinking something." Takara said.

"You mean those smoothies, right? He loved those!" Kumiko said. "Just like that one boy who loves steak, only Yoshi didn't have any psychic powers!"

"Who are you talking about?!" Ryouta asked.

"It doesn't matter." Takara said. "The point is, something was slipped into his smoothies."

"Hold up! Dere's somethin' 'bout da knife thing I ain't gettin'!" Kazumi shouted. "I ain't tryin' ta backpedal all dis, but I gotta figure dis out!"

"And you didn't ask this earlier, why?" Arata said.

"It's fine, go ahead and ask." Masaru said.

"My question is: if da killer only used dat knife ta keep us from Yoshihara's real cause of death, an' dey couldn' see in da dark, den how da fuck did dey even find Yoshihara so dey could stab 'im?" Kazumi asked.

"That's actually a good question." Arata said. "Surely they needed a way to find him without a light. Perhaps we should figure this out before we move forward."

"We've already ruled out all other ways of seeing, like a flashlight or night-vision goggles." Masaru said. "So how else could the culprit have made their way towards Minoru?"

"They obviously used a different sense." Satoshi said.

"You mean they have a sixth sense?!" Kumiko gasped.

"No, you idiot!" Ryouta shouted, slapping his face with his hand. "He means that they used one of the other four senses to navigate!"

"...I knew that!" Kumiko said, her cheeks puffed out.

"We can eliminate taste from that list. Trying to taste the room would be gross." Miyako said.

"Which leaves smell, hearing, and touch." Arata said.

"I can tell you first hand that it wasn't touch." Takara said.

"Are you confessing, murderous scum?!" Ryouta asked.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Takara said. "I was trying to get to the kitchen so I could get Minoru some water. I had to try and feel my way around the room, and I didn't make it before the lights came back on. Plus I was knocked down by someone coming from the kitchen."

"That person was probably the culprit!" Kumiko said.

"Which means the culprit was in the kitchen when the lights went out?" Masaru asked.

"Yes, but we can discuss that later." Takara said. "We don't wanna get too off-topic here."

"So the culprit couldn't feel their way to Minoru, which leaves smell and hearing." Ryouta said.

"So which one is it?" Kazumi asked.

"It's obvious. They used hearing!" Takara said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really have a good place to cut off sorry.


	37. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Class Trial II

"Hearing? How can you tell?" Ryouta asked.

"Think about it, what was the loudest sound in the restaurant at the time?" Takara asked.

"Oooooooo! I heard some gagging and choking when the lights went out!" Kumiko said, her hand raised as she jumped up and down. "It was so loud, I could hear it allllllll the way in the kitchen!"

"Gagging and choking..." Miyako said. "That did seem to be the loudest sound."

"Hold on a second, Wasn't Minoru coughing the whole time?" Satoshi asked.

"Are chokin' an' coughin' da same thing though?" Kazumi asked.

"Coughing can happen when a person is choking, so it's likely that Yoshihara's coughing was signifying he choked on something." Arata said. "And it was quite loud, one could hear it even through the chaotic screaming and shouting."

"If the culprit could hear Minoru like that, it's simple to say that they used that sound to find him in the dark!" Takara said.

"Then how did they get back to the kitchen? There wasn't any sound coming from there!" Ryouta said.

"That is, aside from the shouting." Masaru said. "But everyone seemed to be shouting by that point, so there's no way to pick out one specific voice and follow it."

"Actually, I can think of one person who could do such a thing." Arata said, his glasses shimmering under the light. "There's one person here who has extraordinary hearing, and could easily navigate back to the kitchen. Am I right, Katsuya?"

"Excuse me?!" Kazumi shouted. "Why da hell am I bein' accused?!"

"Don't take this as some kind of vendetta, I'm merely throwing ideas out for discussion." Arata said, trying to calm down the vocalist before she got too angry. "But you've admitted it yourself that your hearing is good, and we've seen proof of that. So if anyone would be able to navigate back to the kitchen using merely sound, it would be you."

"He's got a point." Ryouta said, his arms crossed. Clearly he didn't like the fact that he agreed with the designer. "But is there any way to tell for sure?"

"Woah, Ryose didn't jump on the pointing fingers train like he usually does!" Kumiko said. "That's totally different from the real Ryose! Are you some kind of clone made with his DNA created by some evil multi-billionaire?"

"No, you idiot! I'm not!" Ryouta shouted. "I just don't want to believe this claim without significant evidence! If we vote wrong we _die_ you know!"

"She's right, that's not like the real Ryouta at all." Takara said with a smirk.

"I'M NOT A CLONE!" Ryouta shouted.

"Let's get back on track, please?" Satoshi nervously asked.

"It's not much, but we could ask her." Miyako suggested.

"But she could lie, right?" Masaru said.

"I don' got shit ta hide." Kazumi said. "Ask away."

"Alright, so when everyone was screaming could you pick anything out?" Arata asked.

"Not really." Kazumi said. "I could only pick up a few bits here an' dere. Like Akamine mentionin' somethin' 'bout gummy bears or whateva'?"

"Wait, I said WHAT?!" Kumiko asked, her face turning red.

"But you couldn't focus on one voice?" Takara asked.

"Nope." Kazumi said. "Shit was too crazy ta do dat."

"So hearing couldn't be used to get back to the kitchen." Satoshi said.

"True, but there was another sense they could've used." Takara said.

"Ya mean dey smelled da way back to da kitchen?" Kazumi asked. "How da fuck's dat even possible?!"

"The smell of sausage and fish was overpowering in the restaurant, right?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeah, it was intense." Miyako said.

"So they could've followed the smell of meat back to the kitchen! Woah, that's pretty clever!" Kumiko said.

"Does that answer your question, Kazumi?" Takara asked.

"Yeah, I get it now." Kazumi answered.

"With that out of the way, we should return to the subject of Minoru's smoothie." Masaru said. "Specifically, what was put in it."

"Oh come on, it's completely obvious!" Ryouta said. "The culprit put in poison!"

"Oooooh, the culprit's a poison-type then!" Kumiko said.

"Huh? Poison? How are ya so sure 'bout dat?" Kazumi asked.

"I've done a number of research on poison and poisonous substances, you see." Ryouta said, in a manner similar to bragging. "And while I couldn't perform a proper autopsy or anything like that, I did examine the body for any symptoms. And his mouth is all the proof we need!"

"You're talking about his lips." Arata said. "That's something anyone could figure out, even Katsuya."

"Oy! Ya lookin' for a black eye dere?!" Kazumi said as she cracked her knuckles.

"What happened to them anyway?" Kumiko asked. "They look all red and puffy!"

"They've been burned." Masaru said. "At least, from the looks of it. But how do you know it was poison that caused it?"

"I don't need to explain these things to you!" Ryouta said.

"Actually, you do. We're kinda trying to figure all this out so we won't die!" Masaru said.

"...Well, we already know that the poison was slipped into his smoothie, and that he was drinking it before he died." Ryouta explained. "Therefore, his lips must have been burned from that!"

"Hold on a second, Ryouta." Takara said. "While I think you're on the right track, I don't think we're dealing with an actual poison here. At least, not in the conventional sense."

"Huh?! What makes you say that?!" Ryouta asked.

"There was a small puddle near the fridge in the kitchen. It was a strange clear substance that had an odd smell." Takara said.

"What's that got to do with anything?!" Ryouta asked.

"I noticed the same smell in the smoothies. Not just the one Minoru was drinking, but the ones in the fridge as well." Takara explained. "And it wasn't just any smell, mind you. It was the smell of chlorine!"

"C-Chlorine?" Ryouta asked.

"So someone managed to slip chlorine in Minoru's drinks?" Masaru asked.

"Exactly. And by drinking it, he died." Takara said.

"Objection!" Kumiko shouted. "Karins, that's a pretty big rookie mistake you've made there! There's no way Yoshi just drank chlorine without noticing it!"

"And you're claiming this, why?" Takara asked.

"Because the smell of chlorine is obvious! You were at the pool so you should know!" Kumiko said. "If chlorine was put into a drink, you'd be able to smell it before the stuff went in your mouth! That drink would be in the trash in no time!"

"She's right. Chlorine has an unmistakable scent." Arata added. "I doubt Yoshi would ever drink that smoothie if he knew what was in it."

"So it couldn' be dat den?" Kazumi asked. "Da smell coulda jus' been by chance."

"The smell of it was hidden though. I didn't even notice it until I came close to the drink." Takara said. "So it's possible that Minoru couldn't smell it either."

"You can't just mask the scent of chlorine though! I don't see any way that it could be hidden!" Kumiko insisted.

"I don't know, the smell coming from the kitchen was pretty powerful." Takara said. "We already established that the culprit used the smell to return to the kitchen after stabbing Minoru, so it's possible that it couldn't have been easily detected."

"But is it really enough to hide chlorine?" Masaru said.

"I think if it was strong enough to lead the culprit back, it'd be strong enough to mask the scent." Satoshi said.

"Ohhhhhh, okay! I guess that makes sense!" Kumiko said.

"Alright, so we established that it's chlorine, but where did it come from?" Ryouta asked. "You don't just find chlorine lying around the place."

"Maybe Teddie left it around somewhere!" Kumiko suggested. "It'd be just like him ta leave that kind of thing somewhere for anyone to use as a killy-thing!"

"While I'm flattered you'd think it was my doing, that ain't the case!" Monokuma said. "It was one of you who had access to it from the beginning. Besides, poisonings are getting so old. I don't need to see that again."

"So obviously, it would have to be something found in the hotel." Arata said.

"But dere ain't dat many things in here dat have chlorine in 'em." Kazumi said. "Da fuck would it come from?"

"Maybe it was the pool water!" Kumiko guessed. "Chlorine is found in that!"

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "It wasn't pool water."

"Huh? But I thought for certain it was from the pool!" Kumiko said.

"This torn off label found at the scene of the crime says differently." Takara said. "Miyako found it in the kitchen's trash can."

"This is for laundry bleach, isn't it?" Masaru asked. "But isn't oxygen bleach more efficient?"

"Not for the culprit. They probably wanted something that was bound to poison their victim." Satoshi said.

"Even if it wasn't for this, pool water wouldn't be enough to kill anybody." Takara said. "You'd need a stronger concentration, I think."

"So they slipped this into all of Minoru's smoothies?" Ryouta asked.

"No, not all of them." Takara said. "Only the ones in the kitchen were poisoned. The ones he had in his room were fine."

"Still, that's like, a loooooooot of bottles to fill with the stuff!" Kumiko said. "When did they do all this?"

"Maybe when no one was looking while breakfast was made?" Satoshi asked.

"No. There would be too many witnesses." Arata said. "There's usually three or four people in there at once, so it's impossible."

"What about last night?" Miyako asked.

"Why do you say that?" Satoshi asked.

"The culprit could have gone around the nighttime announcement." Miyako said. "When no one was looking, they could have taken the opportunity to sneak in the restaurant while it was empty and filled all the smoothies with bleach."

"I have to agree with her." Takara said. "I heard two doors open last night before I returned to my room. The only problem was that I couldn't see who left either of them were thanks to the power outage. And I know it wasn't someone entering their room, I was the only one out in the hall before the lights went out."

"But wouldn't the culprit be trapped in there all night? There's no way they'd be able to fill up all those bottles before the place locked up." Ryouta asked.

"Perhaps we'll never know." Arata said.

"You know, we've spent all this time talking and it doesn't feel like we're anywhere closer to the identity of the culprit." Masaru said.

"Fuck, he's right!" Kazumi shouted. "What're we gonna do?!"

"Actually, with the information we've gathered, their identity could be found if we just put the pieces together." Miyako said.

"Woah, Mimiya, you're being a lot more talkative than usual!" Kumiko said.

"Well I don't wanna die either." Miyako stated.

It was a bit of a long shot, but it was worth a try. Takara put everything she had learned together and thought about it. The culprit had used chlorine bleach to poison Minoru's drinks. They were in the kitchen before the blackout began, and returned before the lights came back on. They had taken a knife sitting near the stove, which meant they had to be next to it. They had to all add up to something...

A sudden realization struck her. "I think I figured out who the culprit is!" she said with a snap of her fingers.

"You can't be serious! How did you figure it out?!" Ryouta asked.

"First of all, I'd like to know who was in the kitchen before the lights went out, and where they were." Takara said. "Just to be safe."

"I was at da stove, cookin' up some kickass grilled fish!" Kazumi said.

"I was also by the stove, helping Akamine with her sausages." Arata said.

"I was at one of the counters waiting for some super delicious toast!" Kumiko said.

"I was on my way to the doors because I heard Minoru's coughing." Masaru said.

"So one of them is the culprit?" Ryouta asked. "How's their positions going to help you in this case?!"

"Actually, it gives me all the answers I need." Takara said. "If I add this up with the choice of weapon, then the culprit becomes obvious! The murderer can be none other than Arata Miyazaki!"


	38. Chapter 4 - Crashing Tides - Class Trial III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just warning you now, this execution is pretty brutal compared to the past ones. So if you don't think you can handle it, then just skip the third paragraph of the execution. I mean it, this is probably the worst one next to Kaito's.

"...Huh? Come again, Tsukuda?" Arata asked, unfazed by the accusation. "I must have heard you incorrectly, something that rarely happens to me, but I thought I heard you say that _I_ am the culprit."

"No, you heard me perfectly. You're the one who killed Minoru, I'm certain of it." Takara said.

"And what are you basing this accusation on? Where's your proof?" Arata asked.

"Your position in the kitchen before the blackout." Takara answered. "You were at the stove when it happened. Which means you had the perfect opporitunity to grab the knife and hide your crime."

"But Katsuya was also at the stove, remember? And she's the one who originally took the knife out." Arata countered. "Surely she's just as suspicious as I am."

"I got dat out for my fish, Miyazaki!" Kazumi shouted. "I ain't got no reason ta start cookin' fish just ta commit murder! It's a waste 'a food!"

"Even so, my position in the room before the blackout is hardly proof that I'm the killer." Arata said.

"True, but the choice of poison is strange for anyone else to use. You on the other hand, seem like the only one who would have bleach on hand." Takara said.

"Wasn't his super duper concern about being trapped in the hotel related to how he couldn't go to the laundromat?" Kumiko asked.

"Yeah, it was." Ryouta answered. "I was right all along! I knew you were the type to poison someone's drink!"

"Oh come now, surely I can't be the only one who has laundry items." Arata said.

"You're fooling me, Arata. Just confess already so we can end this." Takara said.

"Your evidence is flawed though!" Arata said. "There's no real evidence to prove it was me!"

"He's right." Miyako stated. "We need real proof."

Takara stood in thought. She was certain Arata was the culprit, but her gut feeling alone wasn't good enough. There had to be a way to make him slip up.

"Now that I think about it, did you even find the container for the bleach?" Arata asked.

"Huh? Wuzzat gotta do with anythin'?" Kazumi asked.

"Only a torn off label was found, right? But there was no container to be found in either the kitchen or restaurant, right?" Arata asked.

"I don't recall seeing something like that in there." Masaru said.

"That's because you hid it super incredibly well, pervert!" Kumiko accused.

"But a container of that size and shape wouldn't be easy to hide, correct?" Arata asked. "I doubt the real culprit would take the risk."

Wait a second, something was off about that claim. This was her chance to expose him. "Hold on a second, how do you know the size and shape of the container if it hadn't been found?" Takara asked.

"I, er, I simply made a guess, that's all." Arata claimed.

"No, the way you worded that made it sound like you knew what it looked like. Mentioning the size and shape kinda gives it away that you've at least seen it." Takara said.

"You were supposed to be guarding the body though, so how could you have seen it?" Ryouta asked. "Unless you left your post!"

"Either way, you should tell us where you found it, pervert!" Kumiko said. "Was it in eyesight of Yoshi's body or something?"

"And if you did see it, why didn't you tell someone what you found? Especially after we mentioned the label?" Takara asked. "There's no reason to withhold evidence like that."

"...So you think you've outsmarted me then, is that it?" Arata asked. "It doesn't matter how you push it, these claims of yours are ridiculous. According to you, I put bleach in Yoshihara's smoothies, and then stabbed him when the lights went out to hide the fact he was poisoned. But how can you prove that the poisoning and the stabbing were committed by the same person?"

"Eh? Come again?" Kazumi asked.

"There's no way to know if the one who poisoned Yoshihara is the same person who stabbed him!" Arata said, laughter escaping as he spoke. "Someone else may have tried to kill him and didn't know about the poison! Another person in the room grabbed the knife and stabbed him! Independently from the one who poisoned him! There's no way you can prove that the acts were committed by the same person!"

"Actually, you're wrong!" Takara said. "The positions of everyone before the blackout are enough to prove your theory wrong."

"You're going back to where everyone was standing?!" Arata asked, his tone turning hysterical. "That doesn't prove anything!"

"Except we've already discussed that it had to be someone in the kitchen who did it." Takara said. "Satoshi wasn't even there, and Ryouta, Miyako, and myself were in the restaurant at the time. None of us could've taken that knife. Kumiko was nowhere near the knife, and Kazumi already gave her argument for why it wasn't her who used it."

"But Nishioka is still possibly guilty!" Arata said. "He was on his way to the door when the blackout happened, he could've just grabbed the knife and-"

"I didn't even see the knife!" Masaru said, interrupting the designer. "I was too worried about Minoru!"

"Besides, someone would've noticed that the knife was gone before the lights went out." Takara said. "You're the only one who had the means to take the knife, and the only one with a motive to stab him. It's over, Arata. You've lost."

"Lost? Me?" Arata said, sweat streaming down his face.

"Let's wrap this up before he starts going off again." Ryouta said.

"I agree." Takara said. "Due to the storm ravaging outside, most of us were stuck inside the hotel with limited resources. While we tried our best to plan everything so a murder wouldn't happen, someone decided to act. Last night, they left their room with a container of chlorine bleach in hand and made their way for the restaurant kitchen before it closed down for the night. I almost spotted them, but a power outage happened before I could. Entering the kitchen, they took out a specific item from the fridge. That item was the smoothies Minoru had stocked in there before the storm had hit. They mixed the bleach with the smoothies, assuring that Minoru would drink the poisonous concoction no matter what. After they were done, they ripped off the label to the container and threw it away in the hopes that no one would find it. They found some way to dispose the container, but in a way that it wouldn't be found in the restaurant or kitchen.

"That morning, the culprit felt pride in knowing that they just had to sit and wait for Minoru to drink the bleach filled smoothie for their plan to be complete. And they didn't have to wait long. Minoru had no idea that someone tampered with his drink, and he couldn't smell the chlorine what with the scent of cooking meat and fish filling up the place. Minoru began to cough and gag, catching the attention of everyone in the kitchen. Masaru made his way to the door to check what was going on. Meanwhile, I was making my way to the kitchen to grab some water for Minoru. But before either of us could make it, a power outage happened. This gave the culprit an idea to hide their crime. They grabbed a knife that was next to the stove and made their way towards the restaurant, using the sound of Minoru's coughing and gagging as their guide.

"In the shouting and the chaos, the culprit found their way to Minoru and stabbed him once he was dead. This was to trick us into thinking that the stab wound was the cause of death. The culprit returned to the kitchen, using the smell of food as a guide this time around. They blended back in with the rest of the group in the kitchen, so there would be no suspicion towards him. But in their moment of pride, they had no idea that the knife was what ultimately would give them away. I think I've summed up everything nice and neat. Wouldn't you agree with me, Arata?"

The designer stood in silence, contemplating what he just heard. "I suppose that I can't try to hide it any longer." he said, removing his glasses and acting like his usual self. "It seems you've truly bested me, Tsuku- ...I mean, Takara."

"Alright, alright, alright, looks like you've figured out who the culprit is!" Monokuma announced. "You all know the drill. Use the levers in front of you to cast your vote! Who will you vote as the culprit? Will it be the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

"Do you really have to say that shit every time?!" Ryouta asked.

"Geez, you're acting like a real buzzkill, you know that?" Monokuma said. "Whatever, I don't feel like doing the rest of it now, just vote already." Without hesitation, Takara an the others threw the switch and made their votes. The screen turned on and showed the result once again. Arata's face appeared, the sound of cheering accompanying the visual. "Ding ding ding! Once again, you're correct! The cold-hearted killer of Minoru Yoshihara, is the self-centered Arata Miyazaki!"

"You win some, you lose some I guess." Arata said.

"I don't get it! Why would the pervert kill Yoshi like that?" Kumiko asked. "I just can't figure that out!"

"Yeah, weren't you two friends or something?" Takara asked.

"We've already learned that being friends won't stop you from trying to kill someone!" Ryouta said. "That track runner and football player are enough proof of that!"

"I suppose that leaving you without my reasons would be unfair, so I'll enlighten you." Arata said. "You see, the truth is, I was getting tired of being around you people."

"Say wha?" Kazumi asked.

"Some of you are people I don't mind so much, but most of you irritate me to so many ends." Arata explained. "I can stand being around you for a short amount of time, but that takes out all of my energy as is. Being trapped in the same building as you? It was hell, pure torture! I had no freedom to be by myself, to relax and get away from some of you idiots! So I decided to escape, to leave this stupid resort behind and get rid of the rest of you. Even if the tolerable ones had to be sacrificed, it was worth it to leave you all behind."

"Seriously? That's just messed up!" Masaru exclaimed.

"And it wasn't the other times before?" Arata asked. "Fujiwara, Ishikawa, Matsuki, no matter what their reasons or excuses were they still commited the same crime as I did. And let's not forget Nagai, who originally planned to sacrifice Ishikawa to protect his own skin. Unlike them, I'm not about to justify my actions or excuse them. I'm a murderer, and I murdered so I could get away from all of you. That's all there is to my crime."

"And why did you pick Minoru?" Miyako asked.

"Because it was the easiest to get away with." Arata answered. "I figured poisoning his drink would be a straight shot to freedom. But I got cocky with the knife and the power outage. If I hadn't felt so confident in myself, then I'd probably be out of here by now."

"You're...you're out of your mind!" Kumiko said.

"Perhaps, but at least I'm willing to admit it. And I have to admit, at least I had someone like Takara rat me out. If it were anyone else, then I'd be ashamed of myself for letting someone discover my crime so easily." Arata said.

"Still, for ya ta jus' be okay with killin' someone like dat, ya really are cold-hearted." Kazumi said.

"Perhaps I just look at things more realistically." Arata said. "I haven't blinded myself with the illusion of escaping like the rest of you. I knew long ago that we would be trapped here unless we followed Monokuma's rules. But the rest of you were so dead set on finding a way out. It's foolish really."

"Enough. I've heard enough out of you." Ryouta said.

"You can say that all you want, but it won't change a thing." Arata said. "The only way you can survive here is to adapt, but perhaps it's impossible. I failed at doing so, after all."

"No, we'll find a way out of here." Takara said. "All of us, we'll make it through this."

"Heh, suit yourself." Arata said. "If you all want to live in this fantasy world, then be my guest. I on the other hand, will accept my fate. Shall we get on with it, Monokuma?"

"Well if you're giving me the okay, then I'll be happy to oblige!" Monokuma said. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment, for the Super High School Level Designer!"

"Let me warn you, this won't be the last trial you face." Arata said. "So long as you cling to this idea you can leave together, you're bound to fall just as I did."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!" Monokuma shouted.

"At the very least, I can go out with style. Just the way I wanted to." Arata said, putting his glasses back on.

**_Arata Miyazaki has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!_ **

**An Outfit To Die For**

Everyone was once again gathered to watch the execution, placed behind a fence. Multiple possibilities formed in their minds as to what the punishment would entail, but none of them expected what they saw. Arata was restrained with ropes as he was placed on a fabric conveyor belt. At the end of the conveyor belt was a giant sewing machine, putting the stitching on the fabric as it traveled. Arata couldn't see the sewing machine, but he could hear the sound of it weaving through the fabric. Although he tried to keep a brave face on, he was visibly sweating. It was hard to tell from where she was standing, but Takara thought she could see him shaking as well.

Slowly and slowly, the conveyor belt moved closer and closer. Monokuma was drawing this out as much as he could, they just knew it. Was he doing so because of Minoru's slow death? There was no way to tell. As the sewing machine came into view, Arata's eyes went wide and he began to struggle. For all he talked, he was as scared as anyone would be. He didn't want to die. It was only once death was in his face that he realized it. The conveyor belt stopped once Arata was underneath the machine. Arata closed his eyes as the needle fell.

It seemed to poke him, and at first it seemed like it didn't work. Arata opened his eyes, thinking it was over, and let out a sigh of relief. But he was caught by surprise as the needle struck him again, this time it had hit hard enough to make him bleed. It continued to strike him over and over again, spilling blood all over the place. Blood was getting on the needle, on the fabric, on Arata himself. It kept on puncturing him, no doubt it had gone through him by this point, spilling more blood on him. It felt like an eternity later when it finally stopped. The needle went back up, Arata's body sticking on it as an intestine dangled through the gaping hole left in his body.

His eyes were still wide open, reflecting the fear he felt in his last moments.

Despite the fact that they had seen three punishments before, this one was unlike any of the ones they had seen before. It was too cruel, too much to bear. He didn't deserve this.

"Ahhhh, that was a sight for sore eyes." Monokuma said. "The last execution wasn't very satisfying, but this one definitely made up for it! Hopefully the next one does too!"

"There won't be a next one!" Kumiko shouted. "That's 'cuz I'm not gonna kill anyone! None of us are!"

"That's a pretty bold move, speaking for the rest of your classmates." Monokuma said. "You can't read their thoughts so you have no way of knowing that!"

"No, she's right. I'm not gonna kill either!" Masaru said, his hand balled up into a fist. "I won't let anyone be lost ever again!"

"Damn straight! I ain't killin' somebody either!" Kazumi said.

"I w-wouldn't kill someone if I tried." Ryouta said. "So I guess I'm in the same boat as them."

"Same here." Miyako stated with the same deadpan expression.

"We're not gonna give in to this 'game' anymore!" Satoshi said. "I believe in my friends, and believe that they won't kill!"

"Yeah, we're done with this Vacation of Mutual Killing." Takara said. "I won't let you win this fight. We'll find a way out of this place for sure! And we'll defeat you at your own game, Monokuma!"

"Really? You all say you're not gonna play?" Monokuma asked. "Those are some pretty bold words, I'm not sure I can believe them! Besides, it's too late at this point! You can't just quit now! This game must be played to the very end! And I'll make sure you bastards participate!"

"We'd like ta see ya try!" Kazumi said.

"Oh don't worry, you can count on that." Monokuma said. "We're almost at the final act, ya know. Soon now, everything will come to a close. I wonder who's gonna win? You brats, or despair? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" With the echo of his crazed laughter, Monokuma left them standing in the courtroom.

"Um, just what was he talking about by all that 'it's too late to stop playing' and 'we're almost at the final act'? Should we be worried about that?" Ryouta asked.

"I don't know, it could just be another empty threat." Takara said.

"Whatever it means, we should be careful." Satoshi said. "Monokuma is a tricky one to deal with, after all. He's probably going to do whatever he can to make us murder someone."

Kazumi yawned and stretched her arms. "Geez, I'm gettin' tired. Can we go back ta da hotel now? I'm sick of standin' around here."

"I think we all need some rest after that." Masaru said. "Come on, let's go."

The small group of seven left the courtroom and headed onto the platform. They kept telling themselves this would be the last time they came here. Upon reaching the exit, they walked in silence as they returned to the hotel. They all returned to their rooms as they headed upstairs. But Takara felt a hand on her shoulder as she tried to go upstairs. She turned around to see Satoshi, a somber look on his face.

"I really am sorry for the way I was acting." he said. "I was a jerk, and all because I couldn't separate the real you from the vision I had of you. And that's not right. If you don't hate me, then maybe I could get to know the real you?"

"You really think I hate you because of that?" Takara asked, holding back the urge to laugh. "Come on, give me some credit here. We're still friends, you know."

Satoshi smiled. "That's good. I'll, uh, see you at breakfast then?"

"Of course." Takara said. "Night." She walked up the stairs and went to her room. Things were getting better, she just knew it. She shook the lingering visions of Arata's execution out of her mind as she went towards the bed. Once again, a strange folder sat on top of it. Normally she'd take a look at it, wondering what it read. But tonight she picked it up to set it aside and place it with the rest of the things that had gathered. For once, she was going to get some well-deserved sleep. The mysteries could wait until tomorrow.

**7 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad to be done with this case. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing here, and so I think the case suffered because of it. I tried my best though. Anyway, free time event suggestions for next chapter are open. Although I get more suggestions on DeviantArt (I upload this fic over there as well as here), but I suppose it doesn't hurt to see what you guys have to say.


	39. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Daily Life I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, updates for this chapter might be slow so I can figure things out and work on some backlogged fics. I'm still thinking about it, but figured I'd warn you now. Also, it looks like this fic has a TV Tropes page! I put some tropes in there myself, but it could still use some contributions and I'd love to see it grow! Especially since I'd like to see a YMMV page for it. If you have some time, go check it out!

Takara woke up feeling refreshed, a rarity after going through a trial. A lingering feeling of dread was still there, since she knew two more empty chairs would be in the restaurant, but she felt like things were going to be okay. She wasn't going to just give up and fall to despair like Monokuma wanted. She was gonna fight back no matter what. She walked into the restaurant, trying to ignore the absence of Minoru and Arata, and sat down at a table.

"Yo, Tsukuda! Yer up!" Kazumi said, making her way over carrying a huge plate of food. Looks like she wasn't the only one who felt awake.

"Hey, Kazumi." Takara said, watching as the vocalist slammed the plate down on the table next to her. "I see your appetite hasn't changed."

"Nope! I'm still as hungry as eva'!" Kazumi said. With the plate of food out of the way, Takara noticed something different about the vocalist. Something about what she was wearing...

"Kazumi, are you wearing what I think you are?" she asked, pointing at the object wrapped around Kazumi's neck.

"Yeah, I am." Kazumi said. "Dis was important ta Shizuka after all, so I'd be hurtin' her feelin's by lettin' it gather dust. So I'm gonna wear her scarf with pride or whateva', even though it ain't my kinda thing. I don' like pink, it's too girly for my likin'."

"I think she'd be happy to know you're honoring her." Takara said.

"Fuck yeah, she would!" Kazumi said.

"So we're all going to explore again, right?" Masaru asked. "Something must've opened up since we made it through a trial."

"There's no point in doing otherwise." Satoshi said. "It's pretty much our routine now after all."

"I wonder what kind of super awesome places we're gonna find this time!" Kumiko said as she figited in her seat.

"It better be a way out of here." Ryouta said. "Or a way for us to call for help."

"Well whateva' we find is bound ta help us someway!" Kazumi said, her mouth full of food.

"Even if it doesn't, we can find a way to make it helpful." Takara said. They were all united, they were gonna get out of here, and that bear wouldn't be able to stop them.

"You alright there, Miyako?" Masaru asked. "You've been more quiet than usual."

"Hm?" The lucky student looked up from her food with her usual stoic expression. "Sorry, I was thinking to myself." she said. "But yeah, we'll get out of here."

"Awright! We'll go searchin' after we eat!" Kazumi said as she stood up from her chair.

"Could you at least _swallow_ your food before you talk?" Ryouta asked, putting up his hands in front of his face.

Breakfast seemed to rush on by. Before she knew it, Takara and the others split up to explore. She thought about where there was left to go. Obviously, there was the final path that was previously blocked off, but did another floor open? There were six floors to the building after all. Maybe the elevator was working now. She wanted to check the Manager's Office, but it was probably still locked. Oh well, she just had to figure it all out one step at a time. She walked out into the lobby and made her way towards the elevator. A sign was stuck to the door with a piece of tape and read "Sorry! Out of order!". Was it still broken?

"It's not gonna work." Takara turned her head to see Miyako coming down the stairs. "I tried to use it but the bear came and told me not to."

"And you're taking his word for it?" Takara asked.

"No, but I thought I'd get in trouble if I tried to do it again." Miyako said. Fair enough, it made sense to her.

"So how's the sixth floor? Any more supply closets?" Takara asked, laughing slightly at her own joke.

"I couldn't go there." Miyako stated. "The stairs only go to the fifth floor. I looked for the next set of stairs when I went there but I couldn't find any."

"Oh, I see." Takara said.

"There are supply closets on the fifth floor though." Miyako said. Did this girl not get a joke? "So you don't need to worry about that."

"Oh, cool. Good to know." Takara said, glancing away from the lucky student.

"There's nothing else here though, so you should go check that last area." Miyako said.

"For a big fancy resort, you'd think there would be more to their hotel." Takara muttered. She walked away and headed outside. Once again, she went down the far right path. She came to the split in the middle and found the right path was open. She continued down that way, wondering just what kind of place she would find. What would this district hold? She waited for the dirt path to change once again, but it stayed the way it was. No stone, or brick, or anything. Just dirt. Was there anything of interest this way?

She came out into a small, forest like area. There were trees surrounding the entire district, which had the same amount of areas as the last one. But they still left a mark. The buildings were all pretty large, making the area feel as if it was smaller than it really was. A fence blocked her from entering the forest, a sign near the entrance explaining it.

_"Due to the wildlife roaming around the forest, this fence has been set up to keep the resort patrons from disturbing their habitat. Do not cross the fence by any means, failure to uphold this rule will result in resort staff to intervene, and may result in a patron's expulsion from Paradise Resort."_

Wildlife in the forest? What wildlife? The only animals here were in that zoo. Still, it was a rule of the resort and it needed to be respected. It's not like she was going to get punished by Monokuma either. If they were escaping, they would do it in a manner that still fell under the rules. It had to be possible. Not questioning it any further, she walked into the first building.

She found herself in a small lobby. The desk was empty, no surprise, and two doors were in the back. One was labeled "Entrance", while the other was labeled "Exit" and had a sign next to it instructing them not to enter. She went through the entrance door and found herself in another small room. The place was dark, the source of light being blacklights. There were sets of vests and plastic guns lined up against the walls, flashing small colored lights. Some were blue, some were red, and some were even green. The back of the room had a set of double doors. Not finding much reason to stand around, Takara made her way to the double doors. Until she found herself getting hit by one as it opened and fell to the ground.

Two people came out, one wearing a blue vest and the other wearing a red vest. Takara's vision became blurry, so she couldn't make out who they were by sight. "Oh crap! Quickly, help her up!" A worried voice said. It sounded like Masaru.

"Damn, I didn' think a door could knock someone down like dat." A voice that was definitely Kazumi's said.

"You probably shouldn't have kicked it!" Masaru said. The two individuals returned their vests and lifted Takara up by her arms. They took her out of the room and went out through the exit. They set her down on a bench in the lobby, letting her vision clear up with help from the light. "Are you alright, Takara?" Masaru asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Takara answered. "Just a little dizzy."

"I'm really sorry, we didn't know anyone was on the other side of the door!" Masaru apologized. "We were just taking a look at the place and-"

"Calm down, Masaru, I'm not mad at you." Takara said. "It was only an accident."

"Geez, it ain't like ya knocked her unconscious or somethin'." Kazumi said.

"Oh, right, sorry." Masaru said as he nervously laughed.

"So what's the deal with this place?" Takara asked.

"It's Laser Tag, from the looks of it." Masaru said. "Me and Kazumi were checking the arena out, and um, testing the equipment."

"You were playing the game, weren't you?" Takara asked with a smirk.

"Fuck yeah! An' it rocks!" Kazumi said. "I wish I had da chance ta play dis before!"

"I guess if two people need to let off some steam, they can come here. Or a whole group of people." Masaru said. "It's probably more fun with a bunch of people."

"Yeah, I'd assume so." Takara said. "I'll have to check it out for myself later." She stood up slowly and made her way to the door.

"Wait, Takara, are you okay to walk on your own?" Masaru asked. "Do you need some help?"

"Relax, Masaru. It's just a bump on my head, I'll be fine." Takara said. "But thanks for offering."

Masaru looked away. "Um, you're welcome..." he said. Kazumi just snickered.

Takara walked outside. A Laser Tag game? What was something like that doing in an area like this? Then again, that was the least of her worries at this point. She walked into the next building. Once again, she found herself in a lobby with two doors at the back. One of the doors had a picture of a gun on it, while the other had a picture of a bow and arrows. She walked into the gun door, finding herself inside a shooting range. The back of the wall had nothing but targets lined against it. On the opposite wall were various cases. One case held headphones, another case held pistols, another held rifles. A chill went through her spine. Even though everyone agreed that the were done killing, the guns sitting in plain sight made her nervous all the same. She noticed a lock on the cases and breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the key was hidden, there was no need to worry.

She left the shooting range and went over to the second door. She entered a similar room to the second one, as it looked like a second shooting range but with some slight differences. A short wall separated the shooting area from the target area. The headphone case was completely missing, and the other cases held bows and arrows instead of guns. The targets were also lined up differently, instead of all against the wall. Was this some kind of archery range?

"Oooooo! The bow and arrows!" Takara turned to see Kumiko staring at one of the cases. "Maybe by playing this game, I can win a piece of heart!"

"You good at archery, Kumiko?" Takara asked.

"No idea! I've never tried it!" Kumiko said. "Well, at least not in the real world. I've done it in video games though!" Takara made a mental note to not be in this room when Kumiko was doing archery.

"Did you see the other room?" Takara asked.

"Yep! There's a lotta guns in there! And of all kinds!" Kumiko said. "Lucky for us, they're all locked away!"

"But what if someone finds the key?" Takara asked.

"They won't, because I have the key!" Monokuma said, standing on the short wall. "As much as I want you kids to kill each other, even I have my limits! If you had access to the guns, then someone would go wild with it! And I ain't having a trigger happy havoc in here!"

"So the key's with you, and no one can grab it?" Takara ask.

"Thaaaat's right!" Monokuma said. "You can ask me to use the guns of course, but I might not let you use them."

"Then there's no point in asking you anything!" Kumiko said.

"Oh, the bow and arrows aren't locked up though, so anyone can use those to their hearts content!" Monokuma clarified, supposedly pointing over at the cases (it was hard to tell due to his lack of fingers). "And you can't take the archery equipment to the other room and use it there! The reverse goes for the guns, if you manage to use them!" So the equipment couldn't leave their respective rooms. That made Takara feel more at ease. "Anyway, have fun shooting!" Monokuma jumped behind the wall, disappearing as usual.

"Wooooow, he's got some really strict rules for this place!" Kumiko said. "That's not like Teddie at all!"

"You're right, it's not." Takara said. "You'd think he'd give us full access to these weapons, and let us take them out of the rooms, but instead he's doing the opposite." Something was strange about all this. There had to be a bigger reason that only he knew about. Oh well, at least those weapons weren't a huge cause for alarm. She walked out of the archery room and left the building.

The next building she approached was large. Incredibly large at that. Curious, she opened the door and found herself in, surprise, another lobby. Why did all these buildings have lobbies? Over on the side were two locker rooms, suggesting that people would need to change in here. She went into the girl's locker room and looked around. There were tons of lockers, and some bathroom stalls, but no showers. She also noticed a camera resting in the corner of the ceiling, so it wasn't like the other locker rooms. She opened a locker and found pieces of safety gear. Helmets, knee pads, even shoulder pads. What kind of place would need these?

She left the locker room and looked at the back wall, seeing three unmarked doors. Curious, she opened up the door on the left, not expecting what she found. Inside the room was a large obstacle course. It had everything. A climbing wall, a zip line, and so many challenges that she couldn't even name. It reminded her of that sports special with the four stage obstacle course. She left the room and went into another door. The room was just as large as the first one, but instead was filled with inflatable obstacle courses. Leaving that room, she was about to head into the final door only for Ryouta to come out.

"Argh! This building is nothing but obstacle courses!" he shouted out. "How pointless can you get?!"

"To be fair, this resort wasn't made for our wants and needs." Takara said. "This was probably here before we were brought to this place."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were here." Ryouta said. "Well, I guess you have a point. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating!" She had to agree with him there. Five districts and nothing to help them leave? Anyone in their situation would be getting testy.

"Still, I wonder why a resort would have a building like this." Takara said.

"How should I know?!" Ryouta said. "There's a ton of places in this resort that don't make any sense! Like that library back in the first district!" He was right, a few areas felt out of place in a resort. Just what was with Paradise Resort in the first place?

"I guess it's just another mystery." Takara said.

"I'm sick of mysteries, I just want to be back at home helping the flower shop, and going to high school like a _normal_ person!" Ryouta said. "I don't care if going to Hope's Peak sets you for life, I just wanna be at school like I should be!"

"I don't think this was supposed to happen." Takara said. "Our memories were taken away, remember? We've already spent a year at Hope's Peak, and something happened that wanted us to have our memories taken away after all. Whoever's in control of Monokuma probably decided to take advantage of that or something."

"And how do you know that?" Ryouta asked.

"It's just a theory based on what we already know, nothing more." Takara said.

"I don't need theories, I need a way to go home." Ryouta said, walking away with slouched shoulders.

Takara exited after him. She looked over at the one building left. It was the only place left to go in the entire resort. The only place she could find a way to get out. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and walked towards the building, opening the doors without a worry in her mind.

As she stepped inside, Takara was surprised at what she was looking at. There was no way this was happening. She had to be dreaming. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't still in bed, but she was still there. This was definitely a printing factory. It was a small, but the purpose was still the same. The smell of ink flowed throughout the building, reminding her of the days she worked for her middle school newspaper. She wondered what her old classmates were doing. Surely she had kept touch with them during the missing year? She had no way of knowing though. Hopefully nothing happened to them.

"Somehow I knew you'd enjoy this place." Satoshi said. "It had your name written all over it."

"I'm not so sure I can." Takara said. "It just reminds me of my friends from back home."

"Hm? Which friends?" Satoshi asked.

"The friends I made back in middle school while working on the school newspaper." Takara said. "It's thanks to them that I started my work in journalism. I wouldn't be anywhere without them. I have no idea if they're okay, or if I've even spoken to them recently."

"It's alright, I'm sure they're fine." Satoshi said. "When we get out of here, you can find out for sure!"

"I suppose you're right." Takara said.

A chime sounded, alerting the two of them to the monitor turning on and showing Monokuma. "Attention, all Hope's Peak Academy students! Please report to the front desk immediately!" he announced. Oh no, he didn't have a motive already did he?

"Well, guess we gotta go see him." Satoshi said.

"Might as well get it over with." Takara sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this. But she dragged herself over to the hotel anyway. The seven students gathered in the lobby pretty quickly, waiting for the bear to show up.

"Dis is gonna be a waste of time. We already told 'im we won' kill each other no more!" Kazumi said, her arms crossed.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, he knows how to get under our skin after all." Masaru said.

"Hahaha! What's he gonna do this time? Teddie's gotta be running out of ideas by now!" Kumiko said, swaying from side to side.

"Well aren't you confident, Akamine?" Monokuma was sitting on the front desk as always.

"Go on, just tell us what you want!" Ryouta said. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your stupid banter!"

"Well why don't you stop being such a sourpuss!" Monokuma said. "Anyway, I suppose there's no point in dodging the bullet so I'll just cut to the chase. One of you has been stealing from me!"

"That's it? Someone is stealing from you? You called us all the way here for that?" Takara asked.

"One of the rules is that we can't steal from anyone." Miyako stated.

"Well I'm glad someone remembers!" Monokuma said. "She's right, none of you are allowed to steal from myself or your fellow students! Therefore, there's a thief among you who needs to be punished."

"Well why tell us about that instead of punish them?" Ryouta asked.

"Because I have no idea which one of you bastards did it!" Monokuma said. "One of you has been able to sneak into my private office and snatched some important files! I've also noticed that a few things from my room have gone missing too, and I've quadruple-checked every place in there so I know they've been taken. At first I thought that placing that rule would do it, but someone didn't want to listen. Then I just decided to wait and see if the thief got killed, but even with five dead students since then things have still gone missing! I've narrowed it down to the seven of ya, so you better fess up!"

"Yeah, like someone's really gonna fess up ta ya." Kazumi scoffed.

"Well perhaps I need to give you some incentive in discovering who the thief is." Monokuma said. "You see, the things that have been stolen relate directly to your missing memories!"

Takara froze in shock. Were the things he was talking about related to the stuff that had appeared in her room after the trials? And the files she had gathered from dead students? But how did someone manage to steal all those things and get them into their rooms without everyone noticing?

"Our missing memories?" Masaru asked. "Why would someone be stealing all of those files?"

"Wait a minute! You have your cameras and everything!" Ryouta said, pointing at the bear. "Couldn't you just use them to see who was looking at your files and find out who the culprit is that way?!"

"It's not that your idea is idiotic, but under the circumstances I just can't do that!" Monokuma said. "I've tried that already, and a lot of you have possession of those files! And I know that all of you couldn't possibly be the thief, so someone's been sharing the information!"

Takara should've been shocked by this news, but she knew it already, at least three people had left her with files after they died, so she knew others were getting these strange items. She just didn't realize how many of them were.

"So you want us to turn in someone who's been giving us juicy info? What makes you think we're gonna do that?" Kumiko asked. "You're not making much sense, Teddie!"

"While I may not know who did it, I have a way of finding out!" Monokuma said. "You see, someone among you still has their memories and has been reporting to me!"

"You mean, someone among us is your mole?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeppers!" Monokuma said. "And even if they don't help me, I'm getting pretty close to finding out who the theif is. So if you decide to confess your crime to me, then maybe I'll let you off easy! But if you don't tell me yourself, then I'll make sure you have the most brutal punishment of all!"

"Wait a minute, why did someone come in here without their memories?" Takara asked.

"I'm not sure, they haven't told me!" Monokuma said. "But it's not my busness anyway so I don't have time to worry about it! By the way, if you find the theif for me then I'll give that person a wonderful reward!"

"What kind of reward?" Ryouta asked, a faint glimmer in his eye.

"Sorry, it's a secret!" Monokuma said. "But it's worth it, I'll tell ya that! Just gimmie a holler if you find out, or if you wish to confess! I'll be waiting!" Monokuma jumped behind the desk, no one bothering to check if he vanished.

"So someone's been stealing those files from him?" Masaru asked. "I was wondering what all that was about."

"And we got a spy in the base?!" Kumiko asked. "What else is there that I don't know about?!"

"Dis is a trap." Kazumi said.

"How can you tell?" Miyako asked.

"He dunno who's done it, and he ain't close ta findin' out." Kazumi said. "It's nothin' but a bluff."

"Why would he tell us that if it wasn't true?" Satoshi asked.

"This must be the new motive..." Takara answered, realization striking her. "He tells us not only about a thief, but about a liar who's been working for him. We all told him that we'd work together and wouldn't kill anymore, so he's trying to cause distrust in us."

"Of course!" Kumiko shouted. "He wants us to suspect each other so that we'll get nervous and try to kill again!"

"Like I said, it's a fuckin' trap!" Kazumi said.

"Didn't he mention how he wanted us to kill the thief ourselves?" Ryouta asked.

"That's what he thought might happen, but none of the five people who died turned out to be the thief." Satoshi said.

"So he tells us about it and hopes the theif will be murdered by someone, or waits for the thief themselves to get worried and kill someone so they can escape!" Takara said.

"And he tells us about a mole to make us even more suspicious!" Kumiko said.

"Well that part certainly worked!" Ryouta shouted, his hands shaking. "If someone here is ratting me out to Monokuma, then there's no way I can trust anyone here until I know who it is! So fess up and tell me!"

"Ryouta, shut the fuck up." Takara said.

"He's got a bit of a point there though." Masaru said, looking away from the group. "How can we completely trust each other if someone could turn out to be telling everything about us to him?"

"Don'chu see, dat's what he fuckin' wants!" Kazumi said. "It ain't like the theif is gonna just tell somebody 'By da way I've been stealin' Monokuma's shit'!"

"Still, the fact that this person has all their memories is nerve-wracking." Takara said.

"Maybe Monokuma restored them?" Satoshi asked.

"But he didn't infect us with toxins and wipe our memories!" Kumiko said. "He even told us that someone else did that with our consent!"

"But why leave their memories intact and no one else's?" Ryouta asked.

"...I have to go." Takara said.

"Huh? But we haven't talked about everything we found." Satoshi said.

"Is something wrong, Takara?" Masaru asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine, really. There's just something I need to check and it can't wait." Takara said. "You guys go ahead and discuss what you found without me. You can just give me a summary at breakfast."

"Are you sure you're okay, Karins? You don't seem to be acting like yourself." Kumiko said.

"I'm fine, really." Takara said. "I just need some time to myself. I'll be okay."

"Yeah right, you're probably making an excuse to go talk to your best pal, Monokuma!" Ryouta said.

"Shut up! Takara's not the mole, don't go accusing her without any proof!" Masaru shouted.

"You're getting pretty defensive there, pastry boy. Even though you barely know her yourself!" Ryouta said.

"How 'bout ya shut yer yap before I knock yer teeth out!" Kazumi said, holding her fist right up to Ryouta.

"You should go, before things get worse." Miyako said.

Takara walked away from the scene, heading up the stairs and into her room. She walked over to her desk and picked up the journal. Sitting down on her bed, she opened it to the back pages and hoped she could get some answers.

_It's too much to believe, but it happened. S***** is still alive, even though **** went missing ages ago. We thought we'd never see **** again, we've already given up on ******. But this wasn't enough to cheer us up. I don't think we'll ever recover from this completely. But who would? But the most surprising thing was the fact that a few days later, we were rescued. We don't know much about them, since we just arrived at their headquarters, but we do know their name. The Future Foundation._

**7 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it turns out I accidentally made a TF2 reference without even noticing it. My friend ended up pointing it out to me. I don't play, nor do I really care for the game, so I had no idea I made the reference. Oh well. It happens sometimes.


	40. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Daily Life II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, spoilers for Super Dangan Ronpa 2 and mild Absolute Despair Girls spoilers are in this part. But we got some plot going along and a hell of a lot more background.

_It's been a few weeks now since the Future Foundation rescued us. They've mostly been doing health checks and asking about what happened to us. And checking to make sure we're the real deal. I guess they didn't expect to find any more students from Hope's Peak Academy. They've mentioned another group of students they found some time ago, but we don't know anything about them. They won't tell us anything. The only reason I know is because I overheard them. Hell, they won't even tell us why we've been brought here! I'm sure they have their reasons, and are waiting for the right time to tell us, but I hate being left in the dark._

_There is one thing I do know, and it's that the survivors from the School Life of Mutual Killing work for them. Some of them have even come to check up on us and make sure we're okay. It's nice to see some familiar faces here, even if some of them are the students I didn't really talk to. Not all of us are happy though. A few of us look at them and remember the horrible things we saw on TV. I guess I can't blame them, it's not something you could easily get over. But it's not their fault everything turned out the way it did._

_I hear that the others just came back, looks like they were doing business somewhere called Jabberwock Island. I've heard that name before, but I'm having trouble placing it. I wonder what they were doing there? Maybe I can ask ****** when I see him, he was the ringleader behind all this after all._

_Another thing I can't help hearing these people talk about is something called the *** World Pro**** and how they're thinking of ***********in*********. Not sure what all that is about, but it might have something to do with-_

A knock on the door startled Takara, making her realize it was morning. She was up all night again. She really needed to stop doing that. Not bothering to get changed, she put the journal away and walked to the door. She opened it, finding Satoshi standing outside.

"Oh good, you're awake!" he said. "We were starting to get worried since you hadn't shown up for breakfast, so I came to check up on you and make sure you were okay."

"Sorry, I lost track of time. I didn't even know what time it was." Takara said as she scratched her cheek. She stepped out of her room, walking alongside the archaeologist as they made their way to the restaurant.

"So did you find what you're looking for?" Satoshi asked.

"No, not yet." Takara said. "It's not always easy to find the information you're looking for. Sometimes you have to go to crazy lengths to get what you need."

"I'm safe in assuming that you've gone to those lengths before?" Satoshi asked.

"Oh yes." Takara answered. "I want to now. After all, I can't hide my journalist instincts." They walked into the restaurant, finding everyone else waiting there. She could see Masaru breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing them enter. Kumiko jumped out of her chair and ran towards the journalist, hugging her as tight as she could.

"Karins is okay!" she said. "I knew she'd be alright!"

"Then why are you hugging her out of relief?" Ryouta asked.

"None of your beeswax!" Kumiko said, glancing over at the florist as she stuck out her tongue and pulled on her eyelid.

"Yeah, yeah, enough fun an' games, we got some shit ta talk 'bout." Kazumi said. Everyone turned to look over at her. She motioned for them all to come over, taking a glance at the camera. It was something Monokuma shouldn't be allowed to hear. The other six walked over to her table and took a seat, leaning in closer so she could whisper to them. "Dat stolen shit of the bear's. He said we all got some. I say we should all look over it togetha', somewhere he can't hear us."

"But where can we go to do that?" Masaru whispered.

"The hot spring." Takara said. Everyone turned their attention towards her. "It's the only place we can go where Monokuma won't be able to watch us. All we have to do is go there under the pretense of taking a relaxing soak, while bringing all of our items with us. We can look over everything together, maybe we even piece together some things that we couldn't on our own."

"That sounds like a good idea." Miyako said. "Even though the information can't join us for a bath."

"We're not gonna be bathing, that's just what we want Teddie to think we're doing!" Kumiko said.

"So when're we gonna do it?" Ryouta asked.

"I say we do it this afternoon." Takara said. "If we do it now and go get out things, he'll get suspicious."

"This afternoon then. Got it." Satoshi said.

"Remember, bring _everything_ you have. Not just files, but anything else that seems strange that's appeared in your room. Things like notebooks, journals, anything. Whatever you have must be of importance." Takara said.

"Also, even I don' think I need ta say it but I'm gonna anyway, don' let 'im see ya take yer stuff wit'cha." Kazumi said. "Try ta stuff it somewhere. Even yer own clothes if ya gotta. A lotta ya got jackets, hide 'em dere or somethin'. I don' care, so long as ya get everythin' dere."

"We should probably split up now." Masaru said. "He'll probably get suspicious seeing us huddled like this together." Everyone nodded their heads and broke away.

"Alright! Party at the hot springs!" Kumiko shouted, raising her fists in the air. Of course, she was trying to make things convincing.

"I haven't gone to a hot springs with anyone in a long time." Ryouta said. "None of you better try to do anything while I'm venerable!"

"Chillax dude, ain't no one here who's gonna stab ya while yer wet an' naked." Kazumi said.

"Oh yeah, Takara you wanted us to tell you about everything we discovered yesterday didn't you?" Masaru asked.

"Yeah, I did." Takara said.

"In that case, why don't we talk about it over some breakfast?" Satoshi asked. "Let me tell you, I'm pretty hungry."

The rest of breakfast was spent going over what they discovered yesterday. Everything that she found was all they got. But nothing was useful for their escape. There were a few suggestions to try using the things in the obstacle course, but it was shot down almost instantly. That was the last district too. They had no where else to go. Unless something was waiting on the last floor of the hotel, then there was nothing they could do. And she wasn't about to go and have two more people die just to get there. She was surprised though. After what happened last night she thought trust would be strained between them. At the very least, she'd think Ryouta would be trying to avoid them again. But then again, some people were better at hiding their emotions than others.

When breakfast was finished, they all went their separate ways. Takara made a stop at her room, if she was grabbing those files she was doing it now. She looked around her room. She really had a lot of information, not only from these things showing up in her room but from getting files from some of their dead students. She placed her bag down on the desk, opening it up so she could put everything inside. She grabbed the journal first, it was what held the most clues after all. Then she took the sketchbook that once belonged to Shizuka. This probably didn't hold many clues, but it was worth grabbing since it still counted. Next, she grabbed the files. The one on the School Life of Mutual Killing, the Most Despair Inducing Incident, the School Memories, the Student Profiles, and the one she hadn't read yet. She took a quick glance at the name of it: "The Future Foundation".

That was the name of the group she saw in the journal! This was the group who rescued them! Would this tell her what they did with them? She shook her head, now wasn't the time to think about that. She'd find out with the rest of the students together. Finally, she picked up the profiles of the two missing students. Saemi Sasagawa and Shuuya Kuronaga. She remembered what she had read in the journal earlier, if she understood it correctly then one of them was still alive. But the other was most likely dead. Who could it be though? And where were they? She placed everything in her bag and walked out the door. She should take the time she had to hang out with someone.

She made her way to the lobby and out the door, taking the far right path towards the new district. Standing near the Laser Tag building was Kazumi. She walked over to the vocalist. "Hey Kazumi, you wanna talk or something?" she asked.

"Sure, why not. I ain't got nothin' betta' ta do right now." Kazumi said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Wha'chu wanna talk 'bout?"

"Well, tell me how you became a vocalist." Takara said. "How did someone like you get into the music business?"

"What, ya wanna hear dat story?" Kazumi asked. "Well I guess it don' hurt ta tell ya. Okay, so ya know 'bout Culture festivals right?" Takara nodded her head. Of course she knew of Culture festivals, every school had one! "Okay, good, dat means I got less ta explain! Anyway, two years ago da music club came ta me beggin' for a favor. Da lead singer got sick an' couldn' perform for da festival. Dey knew I could sing, so dey asked me ta fill in for 'em. Obviously, I said yes! So I spent da past few days memorizin' lyrics an' practicin' with 'em. It didn' take dat long for me ta get everythin' down.

"So obviously, da festival happens an' I go up on stage ta sing. People loved us! Dere were a shit ton of cheers! So after dat's all done, I try ta head back ta my class so I can help dem out. Den dis guy shows up sayin' he's been lookin' for this new sound an' I'm jus' what he wants. He offers me a chance ta be famous an' make a fuck load of cash. So I said why da fuck not, I'll do it! An' from dat moment on, Kazumi Katsuya was in da spotlight!"

"Wow, that's an interesting story." Takara said. "You're pretty lucky for someone to discover you like that."

"Yeah, I guess so." Kazumi said. "So what 'bout you? How'd ya become a top-notch journalist?"

"You really want to know my story?" Takara asked, pointing at herself. She never had anyone ask about her past before.

"Fuck yeah I do!" Kazumi said. "I told ya mine, so it's only fair dat I know yers!"

That seemed fair. "My story isn't as good as yours, but I can tell you." she said. "You see, I've always felt the world of journalism has been flawed. There's just too many rumors and lies made to get viewers and readers. I was tired of that. Journalists shouldn't care about how many people read their stories so long as they tell all the facts. So I wanted to change that. I joined the newspaper club in middle school with the idea that I'd get out nothing but the truth. I didn't listen to rumors or make anything up, I just printed the honest truth. I did research for my stories and got angles from all sides to make sure I wasn't being biased either. And as it turned out, people loved my articles. Not only were fellow students reading the paper, but some of the teachers would pick up copies as well. I think I even saw students from other schools pick up the paper. I guess someone showed it to their parents or something, because the next thing I know I'm getting a call from the local newspaper to write an article.

"And it just kept going from there. Other newspapers, magazines, even news websites were asking me to write for them. I figured it was my chance and accepted each offer. Of course, I still tried to do my best for the school paper, I couldn't abandon them. Until we went to high school and started going to different schools. But by that point I was writing for a lot of different people anyway. And that's all there is to it."

"Dat ain't a bad story, it's jus' as cool as mine." Kazumi said.

"Seriously? I thought you'd find it boring." Takara said.

"Nah, I like learnin' how people made it ta where dey are." Kazumi said. "An' considerin' we're all from Hope's Peak, we all gotta have some interestin' stories 'bout how we got our talents. Hell, even Kitagawa must've had a damn good story about how he became a composer. Dat ain't da sorta thing ya jus' happen ta find yerself doin'."

"I guess you're right." Takara said. Everyone did have their own stories. It was a shame that she couldn't learn about the stories of their departed friends. But there was no point in grieving over what she missed the chance to do, now was the time to learn about the people she still could see. Their stories were bound to leave a mark, just as Kazumi's did. Feeling satisfied with the conversation, she walked away and returned to her room.

Entering the room, she glanced at the clock next to her bed. It was already 1 p.m. Everyone was probably gathering at the hot springs by now. Before she left, she grabbed a small bag of chips and a can of cola, taking the time to have a brief snack. She took one last look around the room, making sure she had packed everything she had. Feeling confident, she stepped out and walked towards the health district. Here she was again, making her way to the hot springs to discuss the strange items that had appeared out of nowhere. Only this time, it was a more important matter.

Going inside, she found the others all standing around waiting for her. "What took you so long, Takara? Reporting your little meeting to Monokuma?" Ryouta asked, a bundeled up towel in his hands that obviously came from his room.

"Shut up, Hoshino. Or I'll give ya a new black eye." Kazumi said, punching her fist into her palm. Ryouta instantly shut up, and even jumped in fear as he inched away from the vocalist. The black eye Ayame had given him was finally gone, so it made sense that he wanted to avoid having another one so soon.

"Anyway, let's not stall for time." Satoshi said. "Let's take out all the things we have so we can discuss." The others silently agreed as they took out their files and items. Some people had just tried to hide them in their clothes, while others had used more creative means to sneak them over. Ryouta opened up the towel to reveal a file and a book like object, while Masaru had brought everything in a bucket and covered it with a spare change of clothes. Takara of course took everything out of her bag. Soon, files and old books were spread out on the floor, everyone making a circle around them.

"It looks like we each have something." Masaru said, glancing over everything scattered in front of them.

"Hold on, how come Takara has so many of them?!" Ryouta asked, pointing a shaky finger at the journalist. "You must be the thief, aren't you?!"

"Hoshino, I'm pretty sure I told ya ta shut the everlovin' fuck up!" Kazumi said.

"Some of these just showed up in my room as normal, but others I got from our dead friends." Takara explained. "I found the files in their rooms during investigations, and one of them was given to me. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't accuse me of being the thief!"

"So what do all these things have in common?" Kumiko asked, tapping her finger against her cheek. "Is this some sort of puzzle?"

"I think we should just go over these slowly. Then you'll see how they connect." Takara said. "We should start with the book items first." She pushed the journal and Shizuka's sketchbook forward into the center. Kazumi followed by pushing in the notebook. They were soon joined by a second notebook from Ryouta, a reminder book from Miyako, and a book with a piece of tape on it that said "Recipes" from Masaru. Satoshi and Kumiko didn't have any books, so they just sat there in silence.

"So this is everything." Miyako said.

"If I'm assuming correctly, all of these items are older looking copies of stuff we brought with us. But they have handwriting of ours in them, and we clearly don't remember writing in them." Masaru said.

"Right on da money, Nishioka." Kazumi said. "When dese things started showin' up in our rooms, Tsukuka, Shizuka an' I came here an' talked about 'em. We figured out dat dey all connect to da missin' memories of ours. Or most of us as da case may be."

"And if I had to guess, either around halfway through or near the end of these books, the content gets strange and makes no sense?" Takara asked the others. Everyone nodded their heads.

"I kept this as a document for the plants I raise, but it suddenly got all weird and was talking about this 'Super High School Level Despair' thing!" Ryouta said.

"Super High School Level Despair?" Kumiko said. "Who in the name of Sylvarant has despair for a talent?"

"It's not one person, it's a group of some kind." Ryouta said. "At least that's what I was able to discern from it."

"What else did it say?" Miyako asked.

"It just kept mentioning how 'they're going to get us next' and 'we're gonna share the same fate as that other class', things like that." Ryouta explained.

"Other class?" Kazumi asked. "What other class?"

"I don't know." Ryouta said. "It doesn't go into much detail other than that. It all plays out like the ramblings of a mad man. The last few pages do mention say something like 'hiding will do no good, they'll follow us even if we leave'."

"Damn, yer even gloomier den I thought." Kazumi said. "At least ya were back den."

"What about these other things?" Takara asked. "Miyako, Masaru, what did you bring?"

"Well, I write down recipes I think of in this thing, along with results at cooking certain dishes." Masaru said. "But I've never even cooked these things before. But at the end, kinda like Ryouta's, it turns into pages filled with nothing but strange text. That Super High School Level Despair group is mentioned in it as well. Though it keeps saying things like 'they killed our friends, no one is safe'."

"This is starting to creep me out big time!" Kumiko said, as she played with her hair.

"The strange thing about my reminder book isn't something that I wrote, it's what someone else seemed to write." Miyako stated. She opened the book to a regular page, finding what looked like regular reminders written down. Things like "go to the library to study for big test" and "spend lunch with Makoto", typical reminders for a high school girl. "This is my handwriting." she said. "But in the back, there's something weird written down that definitely isn't mine." She flipped through the pages until she came to the one she was looking for.

Written in a completely different writing style was the phrase "I AM THE ASSASSIN" across both pages.

"What in the world does this mean?" Satoshi asked.

"How do we know you didn't write it yourself?!" Ryouta asked.

"I can't write like this if I tried." Miyako stated.

"What about you, Takara?" Masaru asked. "What's in yours?"

"Well, I had a journal with me so I could write about my time at the academy, and this one was already written in." Takara explained. "The beginning is nearly impossible to read, but the middle is where things get interesting." She opened the journal to the first entry about their time out of the school. "Somehow, we left the school due to students vanishing and being killed. We went into hiding from someone, and then this 'School Life of Mutual Killing' was shown on TV. It looks like our upperclassmen had their memories wiped and were forced into this game, just like we were, only they were back at Hope's Peak. I haven't read much further, but the last thing I found was something about a group called the Future Foundation rescuing us."

"School Life of Mutual Killing?" Kumiko said. "So we're not the first ones put through this!"

"What about that other book you brought?" Miyako asked, pointing at the sketchbook.

"Oh, this isn't mine." Takara said. "A few days before her execution, Shizuka showed this to me. She practiced drawing in this and just doodled mostly, but there are drawings of people she never met, and the last page just has the phrase 'He's gone' written over and over again."

"If that's Shizuka's, then why do you have it?" Ryouta asked, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

"The day of the trial, she just handed it to me." Takara said. "Said how I'd benefit from it more than her."

"She probably gave it because she planned on being executed." Satoshi said.

"Alright then, what about you Kazumi?" Masaru asked.

"Da notebook is meant for writin' song ideas, but it looks like I used it ta take notes or somethin'?" Kazumi said. "I dunno."

"So all of these items belonged to us before we lost our memories." Takara said.

"Then how'd these other versions come to us?" Ryouta asked. "Did whoever put us here give us duplicates so we wouldn't notice?"

"I don't think so." Masaru said. "My notebook has a piece of tape stuck to it, and both versions look the exact same. I don't think that's coincidence."

"Wherever they came from, it doesn't really matter." Satoshi said. "We have a lot of files to go through, so let's get started."

"Actually, there's one other thing I have that I want to bring up." Takara said. She picked up the two profiles she had found in her room and placed them in the center. "These weren't in any files of mine, so I figured it was best to bring them up."

"Oooooooo, what are they?" Kumiko asked.

"Student profiles from Hope's Peak Academy." Takara answered. "To be specific, the profiles of two people named Saemi Sasagawa, and Shuuya Kuronaga."

"Sasagawa an' Kuronaga? I ain't never heard of 'em before!" Kazumi said.

"Why are these two so important?" Ryouta asked.

"Because from what I've been able to gather, they were our classmates." Takara said.

"Our classmates?" Masaru asked. "But how come they're not here with us?!"

"From what I could gather from the journal, both of them went missing at one point. One disappeared before we left Hope's Peak, and the other vanished after helping us escape." Takara explained. "It looks like one of them found their way back to us, but the other is still unknown. It's possible that they're dead."

"But if one of them found us again, wouldn't they be here with us too?" Kumiko asked. "If those Future Foundation people rescued us, then shouldn't the other student be here as well?"

"Somethin' could'a happened between us gettin' rescued by 'em an' us bein' dumped here." Kazumi said. "We don' got a way of knowin' though."

"I can keep looking through the journal to find out." Takara suggested.

"But still, just who are these two?" Masaru asked.

"According to their profiles, Saemi Sasagawa is a Super High School Level Playwright." Satoshi said as he read the papers. "But Shuuya Kuronaga's talent is blanked out. If these were stolen from the bear, then that means he didn't want us to know under any circumstances."

"Wait a minute! How can we tell these two were really our classmates?!" Ryouta asked. "This could just be a trick!"

"Because I have evidence." Takara said. She opened up the School Memories file and spread out the pictures. "These photos are apparantly from the year we spent at the school. All of us are in them, along with some students I didn't recognize. But there's one of them that's important." She picked up the class photo, holding it up for everyone to see. "This picture has all of us, including Saemi and Shuuya. There are some other pictures with them in it, but this one proves that we had classes with them."

"Wherever they are, hopefully they're alright." Masaru said.

Takara gathered all the pictures back into the folder, putting it to the side. "Alright, now for the rest of the files. Let's put 'em in the middle again." she said. She took the four files she hadn't shown and placed them in the center. Ryouta, Satoshi, Kumiko, and Masaru followed her lead, placing one folder each with the rest. Takara then took them all and made them into a pile for easy viewing.

"So we have eight files to go through, this'll take a while." Miyako said.

"Let's just go one by one. We've already stacked 'em up like a puzzle game, so we might as well just go in order!" Kumiko said.

"Alright, so what's the first one?" Masaru asked.

Takara picked the first of the files and looked over the title, reading it out loud. "Towa City?"

"Ooooo! that's the one I had!" Kumiko shouted as she bounced in place. "It's a reallyyyyyyyy weird one too!"

"How is it weird exactly?" Ryouta asked.

"It talks about this super huge company called the Towa Group!" Kumiko said. "After this tragedy happened, they made a lot of stuff that helped it out like air purifiers to stop some nasty pollution! And for a really really long time, they were unaffected by this tragedy thing. But I guess this group of crazy kids called the Soldiers of Hope took over and started slaughtering the adults or something? They wanted to make it a paradise for kids I guess. Anyway, a lot of stuff happened in the city, and it turns out the daughter of the Towa Group's leader was behind everything and it's just really crazy!"

"You're right, it is weird." Ryouta said.

"But as it turns out, the kids that were behind all this were from Hope's Peak Elementary School!" Kumiko said.

"What would cause those kids to do something like that?!" Masaru asked.

"I dunno, it doesn't say much else aside from they wanted to create a paradise for kids!" Kumiko said.

"Anyway, let's move on to the next file." Satoshi said. Takara picked up the next folder, the one about the Most Despair Inducing Incident.

"This one is mine." she said. "And I think you should take a look at it yourselves." She handed the file to the person next to her, watching as everyone's faces (expect for Miyako who remained as stoic as ever) fill with shock as they read. It wasn't long before the file returned to her.

"What da fuck?!" Kazumi shouted.

"Something like that...actually happened?" Masaru said.

"I'm afraid so." Takara said. "But there's more. Remember that School Life of Mutual Killing I mentioned earlier?" Everyone nodded their heads. "Well, there's a file on that too. And it looks like it's the next one in the stack." Kazumi grabbed the folder and started reading it before silently passing it to the next person. Once again, the room was filled with shock.

"I thought we had it bad, but these people went through worse situations than we did!" Ryouta said.

"So that's three of them down, right?" Miyako asked. "Which one is next?"

Takara picked up another folder, reading the name of it. "Super High School Level Despair..."

"That's the one I had." Satoshi said. "It talks about this group who did horrible actions in the name of despair. The group started with Hope's Peak Academy students, but it suddenly gained supporters from everywhere, even outside of Japan. They didn't have any goals, any motives, any demands, all they wanted was to spread despair. All of it was lead by one girl, the original Super High School Level Despair, Junko Enoshima."

"Hold on, are ya talkin' 'bout _the_ Junko Enoshima?!" Kazumi asked.

"I don't know, it doesn't say." Satoshi said. "It looks like most of the members killed themselves after her death though, only a handful remained."

"What happened to them?" Takara asked.

"That Future Foundation group found the rest of them." Satoshi said. "But I don't know what happened afterwords."

"I think my file can explain that." Masaru said, pulling out his file from the top of the stack. "It looks like they tried to subject them to therapy through something called the New World Program. A virtual reality program they created to help in situations like this, or rather a prototype of it. Their memories were erased, and they were all put in the simulation with the hope that they'd be cured from their despair."

"So did it work?" Kumiko asked, leaning closer to him.

"I don't know. a lot of this information is blocked out." Masaru said. He took out a sheet of paper, revealing that it was covered in black lines aside from a sentence or two. "All I could gather is that something went wrong, and kept the people who were in charge of the project from getting in. A virus got into the system somehow. In the end, they stopped the virus and got who they could out."

"What do you mean 'who they could'?" Takara asked.

"The virus must've screwed up the system pretty badly, because fifteen people went in, but only five of them came out." Masaru explained.

"Geez, I'm starting to see why we got rid of these memories in the first place!" Ryouta said.

"Well, that leaves three files left. What's in 'em?" Kazumi asked.

Takara grabbed another one. The next file to be picked up read "Student Profiles". This was the one she didn't have the chance to look over yet. "I'm not sure what's in this file yet." she admitted. "I haven't looked over it yet. But it looks like these are our profiles."

"From Hope's Peak, you mean?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah. Shall we take a look?" Takara asked. Everyone nodded their heads, and the journalist opened the file. Just as she suspected, the folder was filled with their profiles from Hope's Peak Academy. But underneath them lied other papers, papers that didn't belong to the school. Takara picked one up and felt a pit sink in her stomach. This had other information on her, nothing that the school would have though. It mentioned her secrets, her fears, her dreams, even her family and friends. Even the dark parts of her past that she wouldn't dare tell anybody. From the look on everyone else's faces, it seemed that similar information had been gathered about all of them.

"Who the hell got all this information?!" Ryouta asked, dropping his paper so he could grab onto his shaking arms.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Monokuma." Takara said. "This would explain how he was able to set up those motives to get us agitated. He gathered information on every possible thing there was about us..."

"Maybe dat mole of 'is helped." Kazumi said. "If dey got all their memories, den dey could have shit on us dat he didn'!"

Everyone was quick to place the papers back into the folder, not even bothering to look at the rest of them. Only two folders remained. One was the one on the Future Foundation, the other was known only to Ryouta. "Well, should we look at the next one?" Takara asked.

Before anyone could answer, a voice sounded throughout the resort. "Ahem, to all of the patrons staying at our lovely Paradise Resort, it is now 10 p.m! It is officially nighttime! The stores will close and the restaurant doors will be locked momentarily. I hope you all have sweet dreams tonight!" Monokuma's nighttime announcement rang through their ears. Was it really nighttime already?

"Well, I guess we should go to bed before he gets suspicious." Masaru said.

"But what about the other two mystery files?" Kumiko asked.

"They'll have to wait for another day." Satoshi said. "Besides, after all we've gone over I think it's best we get some sleep." No one bothered to argue, and gathered all their things together before leaving the building.

Returning to her room, Takara took all the items out and placed them back on her desk. That meeting helped more than she expected. But it also gave way to more questions. Pieces were still missing concerning their memories after all, they still had no idea what happened to them and how they got here. She figured it wasn't that important and tried to go to sleep, but her mind was running wild and making it difficult. She tried to ignore it, but then a realization struck her and made her jolt out of bed with worry.

The mole was there at that meeting. They knew about everything they talked about, and Monokuma had a way to know everything they talked about.

**7 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was going to be more about the other two files, but I figured that the part was getting too long and cut them out. Don't worry, you'll still see what's in those folders, just not right now.


	41. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Daily Life III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an idiot because I forgot to give the link to this fic's TV Tropes page. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/DespairsLastResort Here it is.

Takara's worries kept her up all night. How did she not realize that the mole could take all the information from the meeting and give it to Monokuma?! How did no one else?! Were they all just caught up in the idea that Monokuma wouldn't be able to beat them if they worked together? Or did the whole thing about the mole just slip their minds completely? As she walked down into the hotel lobby, she heard what sounded like shouting coming from the restaurant. Oh no, what was happening now? She ran inside, seeing Kazumi and Ryouta right in each other's faces.

"Don't you know what you've put at risk?! The bear probably knows all about our meeting now, thanks to you!" Ryouta shouted.

"Oy, you didn' think 'bout it neither, jackass!" Kazumi retorted. "I already told ya, it slipped my mind!"

"That makes it sound like it's not as serious as it sounds!" Ryouta said.

"We don' even fuckin' know if dey did tell 'im!" Kazumi said. "An' it ain't like a could'a told someone not ta come! Especially since I dunno who da damn spy even is!"

"You shouldn't have held the meeting at all, in that case!" Ryouta insisted.

"An' left all of us in da dark? I don' think so!" Kazumi said.

Takara walked over to Kumiko. "What the hell's going on?" she whispered.

"Ryose is all super incredibly mad at Kazuzu because he realized that Teddie's spy was at the meeting with us!" Kumiko whispered back. So Takara wasn't the only one who realized that. "He thinks it's her fault!"

"But does he have any evidence that Monokuma knows?" Takara asked.

Kumiko shook her head. "There's no way to tell!" she said. "But he's assuming the absolute worst anyway!"

"Why the hell did I think listening to you was a good idea?!" Ryouta shouted. "You're probably the one who told him!"

"Why da fuck would I set up a meetin' jus' ta go blabber ta 'im?!" Kazumi asked. "Dat don' make no fuckin' sense!"

"Because you're trying to trick us!" Ryouta claimed. "You've probably been lying to us this whole time! Playing us for saps from the very start! I bet you never gave a damn about that stupid painter either! You were just acting like you didn't want her dead, admi-"

Time seemed to freeze at that very moment. Before anyone could properly register what was happening, Ryouta was lying on the ground, his glasses fallen beside him and a red mark on his face. But the person with a balled up fist wasn't Kazumi. The vocalist was standing in shock at the person who landed the blow.

It was Kumiko, teeth clenched and breathing heavily.

Ryouta began sitting up, rubbing the red mark on his cheek. "What the hell did I do to you?!" he asked.

Kumiko grabbed him by his uniform, pulling up the skinny boy so he was in her face. "Ryose, shut the FUCK up!" she said. "This entire time you've done NOTHING but complain and blame people without any proof! No one here knows who's working for Teddie, except for them! It's one thing to be suspicious, but you're just being an ASS! You don't have to like us, but this whole 'everyone's out to get me' crap needs to STOP! That's what he wants! You keep acting like that and someone really WILL try to kill you! I've had enough of this, and I bet everyone else has too, so get your DAMN act together!" She dropped him down on the floor and stormed out.

"Remind me to never piss off Kumiko." Masaru said.

Ryouta didn't complain for the remainder of breakfast. In fact, he left shortly after eating breakfast. But no one seemed to care, they were too busy wondering if Kumiko would be alright.

"Maybe someone should check on her." Miyako said. "Kumiko isn't the type to get mad so easily."

"How do ya know?" Kazumi asked.

"I can tell." Miyako said.

"She's right, Kumiko's never been so mad before. Someone should go talk to her and make sure she's okay." Masaru said.

"I'll do it." Satoshi said, standing up from the table. "I'll find her and try to see if I can help." He walked away with his hands in his pockets.

"Everything's falling apart." Takara said, causing the remaining people to turn and look at her. "We told Monokuma we'd fight against him, and now we're falling into his trap. If this goes on then someone will die." Everyone looked down, realizing how right she was.

"Then we just do the best we can to prevent that." Masaru said, placing his hand on Takara's shoulder. "Kumiko probably slapped some sense into Ryouta anyway."

"More like punched some sense in 'im!" Kazumi said with a laugh. "Who'da thought she had it in 'er?"

Takara tried to tell herself that what Masaru said was right, but her gut feeling was saying otherwise. She returned to her room, noticing the files sitting on the desk. She searched through them, trying to find the Future Foundation folder. She picked it up the instant she saw it and opened it up. Inside were a number of documents and papers. She read through the first one.

_The results from the test run have been received. Using this data, we intend to make improvements so it may be used in the future. With this, we intend to begin the "P******* Rehabilitation Project". We believe with this, the remaining survivors can be healed of all psychological damage caused by "The Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident of all Mankind". Diagnostics will be run beforehand to avoid the problems encountered in the first run. The survivors will not be subjected to this treatment without their willing consent, and we will inform them of what will happen before the project officially begins._

What was this all about? Survivors? Psychological damage? Some kind of rehabilitation project? None of this made any sense. Takara took the next page and read it.

_Upon discussing it with ourselves, we have decided it's too dangerous to place all the survivors in full treatment. Therefore, we will be choosing one of them and giving them special information once we ask for their consent. While they will still undergo treatment, they will be given special privileges in case of emergency. Although the likelihood of something going wrong is low, it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst case scenario. All we have to do is decide which of the seventeen is best suited for this task. We will be choosing the one with the least amount of damage to their psyche, as giving this to anyone else could be dangerous._

Wait, different treatment? Did this mean what she thought? She grabbed another paper.

_It's been decided, we've chosen ************ to keep the information. **** been informed of everything and consented to the task. All the other subjects have given their consent as well, which we've recorded on video and have documented evidence to back up. The three who headed ****************************** have given their approval, and have left a group in charge so they may carry out other tasks. We also have contact from ********************* in the case the situation on that end has any new developments. Finally, we have enlisted the aid of **************, the one who revealed the subjects location. **** has agreed to join the session with the same privleges as ********** just in case. Even so, it's best to ************** anyway._

She tried to read further, but the information became impossible to make out any further. She was starting to get really tired of all this blanked out information. If this came from Monokuma, why did he hide so much of it? Most of these papers were probably in the same state as the last one, so Takara put everything back in it's place. None of it made much sense to her anyway, so there wasn't any point in reading it further. Well that had been a complete waste of time.

She looked over at the other items and picked them up. She needed to study these in more detail, some of them she had barely glanced at. This was going to be a long day.

\----------------------------------

"Stupid Ryose, with his stupid face, and his stupid paranoia..." Kumiko muttered to herself as she examined one of the lounge computers. She didn't regret punching the florist in the slightest. He needed a serious attitude adjustment. She hoped that by hiding in here, no one would lecture her on what she did. Besides, she wanted to check out the computers.

She hoped to find some kind of game on it, using that as a way to take out her anger, but her attempts had been unsuccessful so far. There wasn't even solitaire on this thing! What kind of computer didn't have solitaire?! "Stupid computer!" She banged the monitor with her fist, not hard enough to break it though. She slumped down in her chair, resting her head on her arms and sighed. "I wanna go home... I'm tired of all this..."

The light of the computer screen went dark, alerting Kumiko and making her jump up. The entire screen had gone black. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Don't be broken! I'll get in a lot of trouble!" As she panicked, words appeared on the screen.

**Hello?**

**Is someone there?**

"Huh?" Kumiko sat back down and typed up a response.

_I am, is that good enough?_

She hit the enter key and waited for a reply. It was only a few seconds later when she got one.

**Who are you?**

_The name's Kumiko! Kumiko Akamine!_

**Hello Kumiko. Nice to meet you.**

_Nice to meet you too, green text person!_

**I'd introduce myself, but then I'd get in trouble for it**

**I think.**

"This is really weird, but also super cool!" Kumiko said, continuing to type.

\-------------------------------

"Kumiko? Are you in there?" Satoshi asked as he knocked on her door. "I know you're upset about Ryouta, but we can talk about it!" No answer came. It was no use, he'd been knocking for a good ten minutes now and there was no response. She definitely wasn't here. He wondered where he could possibly look. He had already searched the arcade, pool, and shooting gallery. Where else could she be? "Maybe she went to the shrine?" he asked himself.

Deciding to search there, he walked down the hall and towards the stairs. As he tried to head outside, someone ran into him and fell over. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" He felt a hand lift him up and saw that the person was none other than Masaru. "I was kinda lost in my thoughts for a moment." he said.

"It's fine, can't help it if our minds wander a bit." Satoshi said. "Any luck finding Kumiko?"

Masaru shook his head. "No, I haven't seen her since she had that meltdown." he said.

"Oh well, thought I should ask anyway." Satoshi said. "I'll see ya later then!"

"Actually, do you know where Takara might be, by chance?" Masaru said, looking away with a hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Why do you want to know?" Satoshi asked.

"I just wanted to talk to her, that's all!" Masaru said. "She looked pretty down and I wanted to help her. It's none of your business."

"Well the answer's no." Satoshi said. "I'll see you later, Masaru." He tried to walk away and continue his search.

"She was worried sick about you, you know." Masaru said. "Even though you didn't deserve it."

"Are you implying something?" Satoshi asked, trying to stay calm.

"I'm just saying that Takara shouldn't have to deal with someone who's placed her on a pedestal and glorified her." Masaru said. "She doesn't belong to you, she's her own person with feelings that should be respected. Why she gives you so much attention, I'll never know. The fact that she forgave you after that stunt makes you lucky."

"You're chastising me for putting her on a pedestal, so what are you doing?" Satoshi asked.

"If you're trying to call me a hypocrite, then just stop right there." Masaru said. "You have the wrong idea. I've gotten to know her over time, but you've held her up since before all this happened! At least I recognize that she's not perfect!" He walked away into the hotel.

Satoshi just walked towards the shrine. The sooner he could find Kumiko, the better.

Inside the hotel, Masaru let out a sigh. "Did I really just say all that?" he asked himself. "I mean, it kinda feels good to let it all out but... That was the last thing I needed to do right now." He walked away in silence, regretting his actions.

\-----------------------

Even after looking through all the files, Takara felt like she went nowhere. Most of the information didn't seem to connect to each other. Not even looking at the old photos did anything to help her. Just how long had she been at this? According to her clock, too long. She needed a break. She placed everything back where it belonged and walked out the door. It didn't hurt to get some fresh air.

She left the hotel and walked to the Shopping District. She picked up a bar of chocolate from the convenience store, and went to the gardens. It felt like ages since she last came here, at least for non-investigation purposes. At least the plants were soothing and nice to look at. She felt like all her worries were melting away. Walking further inside the garden, she noticed Ryouta sitting on a bench and rubbing his cheek. Of course he'd come here after something like that. "You okay there?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"I'm fine. Even if it's none of your business." Ryouta said, refusing to give eye contact.

"You sure? It looked like she socked ya pretty good there." Takara said.

"I said I'm fine." Ryouta repeated.

"Mind if we talk? It'll help take your mind off of it." Takara suggested.

"...Fine, whatever." Ryouta said.

"You told me that the last time you teamed up with someone, it ended in disaster. What's the story behind that?" Takara asked.

"You're really gonna make me tell you that story?" Ryouta said, pressing his fingers against his forehead. "It wasn't exactly a partnership, it was actually a business deal. Another flower shop opened up in my area a few years ago. Not long after they opened, the owner came by to make a partnership with my mother. She pretty much ran the place and kept things in line. The owner told her that they came from the city, and they didn't have access to the local flowers. He did have flowers that we couldn't grow in our climate, so he offered a partnership between the stores. We'd provide each other with whatever flowers we didn't have, that way it'd be fair business for both of us and we'd be able to compete fair and square."

"Did she accept?" Takara ask.

"Of course she did." Ryouta said. "He had flowers my mom always dreamed of selling, what reason was there to say no? At first it felt like everyone would benefit from the deal, but it wasn't as fair as he claimed."

"You mean he lied about having the flowers?" Takara asked.

"Oh no, he had the flowers! And he gave them to us!" Ryouta explained. "But then he decided the local flowers weren't enough, the jackass wanted us to _pay him_ for the ones we were giving him! But he didn't want to pay us in return! When he started pulling that crap, my mother told him that the deal wasn't fair. He wasn't so happy about that though.

"After that, he started spreading lies about our shop. He claimed we were _stealing his flowers_ to sell them for cheaper! He forged photos of my poor mother stealing them and sent them to the local newspaper! Because of his shady dealings, we nearly went out of business! I did everything I could to keep our reputation, but it wasn't good enough! We had to hire a lawyer and prove it all in court!"

"Wow, that sounds rough!" Takara said.

"And even after we won the case, people began to speculate that the wrong verdict was called. It took weeks to get our reputation back!" Ryouta said. "It was easier since we were the only flower shop for miles, since that sleazeball had to shut down his store, but people only bought from us because there was no other choice. My efforts were what got us back to where we were before all that!

"After that mess, I've found it hard to trust people right away. I didn't want to be taken advantage of like my mother almost did. This whole situation we've gotten stuck in doesn't help matters either. It's troublesome enough having to watch my back for scumbags, but to worry about getting murdered on top of all that?! I have a damn good reason to suspect people!"

"It's not bad to be weary of people, but you shouldn't distrust them the moment you meet." Takara said.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Ryouta asked.

"I understand why you'd be willing to suspect us, but I think if someone wanted to kill you then you'd be dead by now." Takara explained. "You're too paranoid with people, and that's a huge problem. I'm not saying you should be super friendly or anything, but try to have more faith in us."

Ryouta scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. I've been through a lot more than that."

"What else has happened to you?" Takara asked.

"I don't need to tell you my life story! I've said too much as is!" Ryouta said. "I'm going back to the hotel!" He stood up from the bench and walked away.

Takara sighed. At least some amount of progress was made, or rather she thought so. That boy needed to learn that not everyone's out to get him. But there was only so much that could be done in a day. She began to make her way back to the hotel.

But as she went down the path, a chill went down her spine. She froze where she stood, darting her eyes around the area. It felt as if someone was watching her, but who? "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out, hoping it was just Kumiko or Kazumi trying to scare her. No response came. "Hello? Is that you, Satoshi?" she called out again. "If this is Monokuma trying to mess with my head, then cut it out! I'm not doing what you want!" No one replied. Thinking it was just her imagination, she slowly began to walk back down the path. It was just her imagination, no one was there, she had nothing to worry about.

Until she heard the sound of a breaking twig.

She stopped again, lifting her feet to make sure it was her who made that noise. But no stick was under her. She looked behind her, seeing no one, and began to slowly back away. "If you're trying to kill me, then you're doing a lousy job of sneaking up on me!" she shouted out. "Come out and show yourself! I'm not afraid of you!"

"Takara, what's going on?" The sound of a voice from behind and a tap on her shoulder made Takara scream. She turned around and got into a defensive stance, only to see Miyako standing there. It was hard to tell with the lucky student, but it looked like there was a hint of concern in her usually stoic expression. "You don't need to scream so loudly, it's just me."

Takara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Sorry Miyako, I thought someone was following me and trying to kill me." she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you shouting and came to check on you." Miyako explained. "I thought you were in trouble."

"You did?" Takara asked, receiving a nod from the other girl. "Oh, well then, thanks. I guess."

"You need me to walk you back to the hotel?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah, I think having someone with me would help." Takara said. The two slowly made their way back to the hotel. "I think this is all starting to get to me. I can only keep a brave face for so long."

"You should get some rest then." Miyako said. "You look like you've been up for too long."

"I couldn't sleep last night." Takara said. "Maybe I should go to bed early. I'm not feeling very well now that I think about it."

"It's probably just your body saying it needs sleep." Miyako said. "Don't strain yourself."

"Miyako, is it just me or were you always this concerned for people?" Takara asked.

"I want to leave just as much as you do." Miyako said. "And if I can get everyone to leave then that would be the best."

"This just doesn't seem like you, that's all." Takara admitted. "Usually you tend to keep your distance as much as possible."

"...Sometimes, things are more than what they seem." Miyako said. The two entered the hotel lobby. "You need help getting to your room?"

"No, I think I'll be fine from here." Takara said. "I can make it back on my own."

"Okay. I'll see you later then." Miyako said. She walked away and went into the restaurant. Takara made her way back upstairs, entering her room and collapsing on top of her bed. She didn't even bother turning off the lamp as she tried to fall asleep.

**7 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	42. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Daily Life IV

When Takara walked into the restaurant, her heart felt heavy. Everyone was sitting at a table far away from each other. Backs were turned, and some people were even glaring from across the room. Kumiko wasn't even there. She hoped nothing had happened to her. The only one who wasn't angry was Miyako, who was sitting at her own table eating breakfast like nothing was wrong. Figuring that sitting with anyone else meant choosing a side, Takara walked over and sat down next to the lucky student. "So um, care to update me on why everyone's angry?" she asked.

Miyako looked up from her bowl of cereal and began pointing at everyone as she talked. "Kazumi's still mad at Ryouta from what happened yesterday, and Masaru is on her side I think. Masaru and Satoshi are mad at each other for some reason. Kumiko told me she didn't feel well enough to come to breakfast, but I think she's still mad at Ryouta too. Ryouta's just kinda avoiding everyone because people are mad at him. I'm just here because I like sitting alone."

"Okay, that explains a few things." Takara said.

"You feeling any better?" Miyako asked.

"A little bit." Takara said. "I feel more rested, but my head hurts slightly."

"There should be some asprin at the pharmacy." Miyako said.

"I'll remember to stop by there after this." Takara said. She looked out at her classmates and sighed. "We were doing so well a few days ago. We were working together and ready to stop Monokuma. But now look at us, everyone's mad at each other and keeps blaming people. This isn't the way we should act."

Miyako sat in thought for a moment, staring at the bowl in front of her. "I'm sure it'll pass." she said. "If it doesn't, then I'll find a way to fix it."

"I hope you can." Takara said. At that moment, Ryouta stood up from his table and left, catching the attention of the others.

"You goin' back inta hidin' again, Hoshino?" Kazumi asked.

Ryouta didn't turn to face her. "I finished my food, so I have no reason to stay in here." he said. "Especially with everyone going against me."

"We have a good reason after that spiel from yesterday." Masaru said.

"Like you're one to talk." Satoshi said.

"So no one's going to tell Kumiko that it wasn't right to punch me?!" Ryouta asked.

"I tried to look for her yesterday, and had no luck!" Satoshi said. "Besides, she's probably not here because she wants to avoid you."

"You don't even know that!" Masaru said. "Don't go assuming things about other people, then again it's a waste of time telling you that."

"Then why isn't she here?" Satoshi asked.

"Morino told us she didn' feel well!" Kazumi said.

"And you're just going to blindly believe her?" Ryouta asked.

"It's betta than listenin' ta ya!" Kazumi said. "Ya shoulda died days ago!"

Everyone began to argue and yell at each other. Had their unity really taken so little to crumble? Would Monokuma get what he wanted after all? What could even be done to fix the situation? Before Takara had the chance to act, a loud shout echoed throughout the room.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"

The yelling stopped. Everyone turned to see who had shouted at them, surprised to see Miyako standing from her seat with an angry expression on her face. She was usually so quiet and stoic, was this really making her so upset? She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.

"I've had enough of this fighting. You should all know better than this." she said. "Getting into such petty arguments just because someone tries to leave? What's the matter with you? You're all acting like idiots for no reason. We're supposed to be friends, remember? So shut up and stop fighting with each other, because otherwise we'll have another trial before we know it!"

No one dared to speak against her. They were all too shocked to respond.

Miyako headed for the exit, the sound of her shoes echoing throughout the restaurant. "If you're going to act like morons...then I have no choice but to fix things myself." She left the room, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Nobody could find the words they wanted to say. The silence was broken with Kumiko's entrance.

"Lookie you guys! I'm feeling a-ok! I just needed to take a bit of medicine for my stomach and... Uhhhhh, did I miss something?" she said.

"We pissed off Morino 'cause we're fightin' over stupid shit." Kazumi said.

"You can't really blame her for being upset. She's right after all." Satoshi said. "What's this stupid motive done to us?"

"It's done the damage it intended." Ryouta said.

"I just hope that whatever she does, it isn't too drastic..." Takara said.

"...I think it's time we all tried to fix things with each other." Kumiko said. "That way Mimiya will be happy that we're not fighting!"

"Kumiko's right. This is our mess, and we need to clean it up." Masaru said.

"I'm gonna go find Miyako, maybe have a talk with her to help her settle down." Takara said. "I'm not angry at anyone, and it looks like no one's angry at me so..."

"Well someone's gotta do it, so I guess yer da best choice." Kazumi said. "We'll work shit out, so go on."

Without needing another prompt, Takara walked out of the restaurant. She figured that the first place to check would be Miyako's room. She went upstairs and headed for the door with her picture on it. Why it was all the way in the back, she didn't understand. She knocked on the door, hoping she would be there. "Miyako!" she called out as she banged her hand on the door. "It's me, Takara!" It didn't take long for her to remember that the rooms were soundproofed, so Miyako couldn't even hear her in the first place.

But luck was on her side it seemed, as the door opened. Miyako was standing there, her usual stoic expression back on her face as if nothing had happened. "Oh, Takara. Hi." she said.

"Are you feeling okay? You really got upset back there." Takara asked.

"I'm okay, I just got upset." Miyako replied. "It's nothing to worry about."

Takara wouldn't say that, but if Miyako was okay then there was no reason to argue against it. "Look, the others are working things out with each other, you knocked some sense into them it seems. Why don't you come back to breakfast and see for yourself?" she asked.

Miyako shook her head. "No. There's things I need to do." she said. "I should've done something a long time ago, and now I'm rectifying my mistake. I just need some time alone. is all."

That didn't sound very reassuring. "Well, whatever you do, don't do anything drastic. Can you promise me that at least?" Takara asked.

Miyako stood in silence, her hand placed up to her chin in thought. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises I'm afraid." she said. "I'll see you later." She shut the door, leaving Takara alone and unsure. None of them knew much about Miyako, so no one could know what she'd do. With a sigh, she tried to make her way back to her room. But Ryouta appeared up the stairs and ran straight to her.

"You wait right there!" he said, going into his room. Takara felt confused. What did Ryouta want with her? A moment passed, and Ryouta left his room holding a towel pressed up to his chest. "Alright, now that that's out of the way, I think we need to relax at the hot spring!" he said.

"Why do you wanna go there with me? Shouldn't you ask one of the other boys?" Takara asked.

"It doesn't matter who I go with, I just need someone else there to make sure no one tries to kill me!" Ryouta insisted. Takara was ready to shrug it off as Ryouta just being his usual paranoid self, but the florist walked up to her and whispered into her ear. "I need you to look at the folder I got, but I don't want _him_ to know what we'e doing." he said.

"Alright, I'll go. I don't have anything better to do." Takara said, trying to act disinterested. She couldn't learn about the contents of his folder when they all met before, so this was her big chance! His folder could be the missing pieces of the puzzle!

"Good, now come on. I want to go while everyone's still having their heart-to-heart." Ryouta said, clenching the towel closer to him. The strange pair made their way over to the hot springs in silence. Takara wondered why he chose now to do this. Ryouta was worried that any one of them was the mole for Monokuma, and now he was trusting her with this secret information and willing to be alone with her? That just seemed strange. Upon entering the building, Ryouta opened the towel up and revealed the folder. "There you go, feel free to look at it." he said.

"Why're you doing this?" Takara asked. "Just yesterday you were saying how it was a bad idea that we all gathered here, so why take me here alone?"

"I looked in the folder and found something that I think you can make sense of." Ryouta said. "So hurry up and look at it!" He grabbed the folder and pushed it into Takara's chest. Realizing she wasn't leaving until she looked at this thing, Takara took a look at the folder and tried to read the name. But unlike the other folders, this one made no sense to her.

"What does this name mean?" she asked. "I've never heard anything about something called 'Ryouko Otonashi' before."

"Just look through the damn folder!" Ryouta shouted, getting impatient.

Takara sighed and opened the folder. Inside were pictures and papers, no real surprise. She looked at the pictures, all of them showing a Hope's Peak student with long red hair. Sometimes she was with another person, but the strangest part was that her face was never shown. All the pictures were taken from behind or at strange angles, as if the photographer didn't want her to know they were taking the pictures. She put them back in the folder, no answers could be found in them. She picked up the first paper. It looked like a medical report, written by someone called Yasuke Matsuda. She skimmed through it, learning that this girl had memory issues that he was trying to treat, and had convinced the school to keep her from getting expelled so he could study her odd condition. She tried looking through other papers, finding mostly medical reports, until coming across a set of papers that didn't fit with the others.

They were pages ripped out from the journal.

How did these get in here? Why were they in here? She took the first page and read it to herself.

_I don't recall seeing this girl on campus before. Sure, a few strange things have happened since I started, but this student just seems to have come out of nowhere! Who is this girl, and how did she get accepted without anyone noticing? I can't risk getting this information on my own, I'll have to ask ****** for help. Someone like **** could get the information I need with no trouble. Sure, ****** be against it, but I feel like this Ryouko is hiding something. That or she's involved in some kind of mess. Since things have started getting strange around here, we'll both need to be careful. Though I have a feeling that won't be a problem._

"Ryouta, just what is all this?" she asked.

"All I know is that some girl showed up and things got strange around the same time." Ryouta said, looking away and crossing his arms. "After seeing that journal of yours, I realized these pages belonged to it and thought you should see it."

"Can I take these pages? I need to study them further." she said.

"Do whatever you want with them, it's not my problem." Ryouta scoffed. "Just don't tell anyone I did this." He took the remainder of the file and hid it back in the towel, standing up and making his way out. Takara took the pages into her bag and left the hot spring feeling confused. At first she thought the events from their time at the school were straightforward, if hidden from them. But now things seemed more complicated than they needed to be. She needed a break from all this. She walked off towards the new district, maybe something there could take her mind off of things.

As she entered the woodsy area, she noticed Miyako exiting the shooting gallery. Just what she needed, someone she could talk to. "Hey Miyako, can we talk for a while? I need a distraction." she said.

Miyako thought for a moment. "Okay." she said. "What should we talk about?"

"I don't care, anything really." Takara said.

"Why not talk about you?" Miyako asked. "You're usually the one asking about other people, but you've never talked about yourself all that much. I wanna know about you."

"Really? What about me would you wanna know?" Takara asked.

"Your family." Miyako stated without thought. "What's your family like?"

Takara froze up in shock. "My family?" she asked. She never talked about them that much, even with her friends. Miyako nodded her head, reaffirming her request. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"That's good, I really want to know about your parents." Miyako said.

"That makes two of us, actually." Takara said.

"Hm?" Miyako tilted her head.

"I don't remember my parents." Takara explained. "For as long as I can remember, I've been living with my aunt and uncle."

"Did something happen to them?" Miyako asked.

"I don't know." Takara said. "My adopted parents refuse to tell me. Every time I ask, they change the topic or claim they'll tell me later."

"It must be serious then if they won't tell you." Miyako said.

"Maybe." Takara said with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's not like it matters that much though. I'm happy with the family I got. They treat me like I'm their own flesh and blood, even though I'm just their niece."

"What about siblings?" Miyako asked. "Or I guess cousins in your case."

"Yeah, I have one." Takara said. "She was born after I started living there, so in her eyes I'm her big sister. Even though my uncle's told her we're only cousins, she still calls me 'big sis'. It's funny, really." She laughed a little, recalling the memory.

"What'd they say when you got accepted to Hope's Peak?" Miyako asked.

"They were excited as hell!" Takara answered. "Saying that my parents would be proud if they knew. My aunt was always encouraging my journalism efforts, so I think she was overjoyed to see me get accepted."

"They really cared about you, didn't they?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah. I wonder if they're okay." Takara said. "I said I'd keep in touch with them once I made it to the school, but I have no way of knowing if I did. And there's no way for me to get in contact with them either. I'm a little worried."

"I'm sure you kept in touch." Miyako said. "You must've wrote a ton of letters and made lots of phone calls."

"You think so?" Takara asked.

"Yeah." Miyako said. Was this her attempt at trying to comfort her? That felt pretty strange.

"What about your family? Might as well tell me about them since I told you about mine." Takara said.

"There's nothing special about them." Miyako said. "I just live with my parents, that's all. They're nice and work hard, but there's nothing that really makes them stand out. I'm an ordinary student after all, the only reason I'm here is because of luck."

"If you mean bad luck." Takara said.

"Who knows at this point?" Miyako said. "Anyway, I have things to take care of, so I need to go. Bye." She walked away into the obstacle course. Oh well, at least she helped Takara relax. Feeling at ease, Takara began to make her way back to the hotel.

Once again, as she made her way back, she felt someone watching her. Why did she keep getting this feeling? No one was there, right? She kept looking behind herself to be absolutely sure, seeing nobody, but the feeling just wouldn't go away. She began to run, going as fast as she could. The feeling persisted no matter how far she went. By the time she made it inside the hotel, she was out of breath and her arms were covered in goosebumps. She didn't care what time it was anymore, she just wanted to go back to her room. She climbed up the stairs at a slow pace, reaching her room felt like torture. She began to feel warm and sweat dripped down her face.

She only managed to get inside and close the door before passing out in the middle of her hotel room.

**7 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I even doing anymore?


	43. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Daily Life V

Takara woke up the next morning, her head pounding. She sat up, finding herself in her bed. Wait, didn't she pass out on the floor last night? How'd she get to her bed? She wasn't the kind of person who sleepwalked, she knew that. Did someone get into her room last night? All of this was too much for her, the headache she had was too much to deal with. She looked over at the clock. 7:15 flashed at her in red. She hadn't missed anything, that was good. She made a mental note to get some aspirin at the pharmacy later and headed off to breakfast.

Once she made it downstairs, she saw Kumiko bouncing out of the restaurant. The comic artist spotted her and began to grin as much as her mouth could allow, which was pretty creepy looking the longer Takara saw it. "Karins! There you are!" Kumiko said, almost yelling.

"Kumiko, could you keep it down, I have a bad headache this morning." Takara said, clutching her head to deal with the pain.

"Oops, sorry." Kumiko said, lowering her voice to a normal level. "Anyhow, it's super duper great that you came! We were getting worried when you and Mimiya didn't show up. I'll go get some medicine while I see where she is!" She began to skip away towards the stairs.

"Wait a second, Miyako isn't there?" Takara asked.

"Nope, we've been waiting and waiting but there's no sign of her!" Kumiko answered, stopping in place and turning her head to face the journalist. "They told me to go find her!"

That was strange. Why wasn't Miyako at breakfast? Everything was settled wasn't it? This didn't seem right. "Let me come with you. We can get the aspirin sooner that way." Takara said.

"Okie dokie!" Kumiko said, spinning around in circles. "Let's go!" The two went back upstairs. Kumiko made a quick stop in her room and grabbed a container of pills and a glass of water. She handed the glass to Takara and took two capsule-shaped pills out of the container. Takara placed the pills in her mouth and swallowed it down with the water. "It's gonna take a liiiitle time to kick in, but it works like a charm!" Kumiko said as she took the glass of water back. She returned it to her room and they made their way towards Miyako's room.

It was strange, just yesterday Takara was here in the morning trying to get to Miyako. Only this time she was doing it with a headache. Kumiko knocked on the door at a rapid speed, it was surprising that her hand wasn't getting hurt. The aspirin began to kick in as the comic artist continued to knock, but no matter how long they waited there was no answer. "I don't think she's here." Takara said.

"But where could Mimiya be if she's not here?!" Kumiko asked, turning around to face her.

"I'm not sure." Takara said. "Maybe we should just go back to the restaurant and look for her later. Miyako probably wants to be alone anyway."

Kumiko looked down at her feet. "Okay..." she said. The two of them walked away and headed to the restaurant.

Just as Kumiko said, the others were there waiting. "Ah! You found Takara!" Masaru said with a huge smile.

"But dere ain't no sign of Morino." Kazumi added. "Where is she?"

"Not in her room, that's all I know." Kumiko said with a shrug of her arms.

"Did we really piss her off that much?" Ryouta asked.

"Now that I think about it, what if something happened to her?" Satoshi asked. No, he wasn't implying...

"Oh come on, who would wanna kiil 'er? Dat girl didn' talk ta nobody!" Kazumi said.

"Most of the times it's happened though, there hasn't _been_ a specific target." Ryouta pointed out.

"Hold on a second, we shouldn't be making these assumptions already!" Takara said. "She could be trying to get some space."

"Still, it's best to make sure." Masaru said. "I don't wanna assume the worst either, but we can't say it isn't an option." He raised a good point. The only way to know was to look around and find Miyako herself.

"I suggest we split up." Satoshi said. "There's six of us, leaving one of us to search each section."

"So we need to pick who goes where!" Kumiko said. She pulled out a piece of paper, showing a makeshift map of the resort. "I thought making a map of the whole place would come in handy!" She pulled out a pencil.

"One of the girls should stay here and look in the hotel." Ryouta suggested. "She might be in the locker room, and us boys can't go in there."

"I'll take care of it den." Kazumi said. "Dere ain't dat many places I need ta look, so it'll be easy for me." On the drawing of the map, Kumiko drew a small figure in the hotel and wrote "Kazuzu" under it.

"I'll go to the place with all the stores." Masaru said. "There's a lotta ground to cover there, and I'm just the one to do it." Kumiko made another figure in the Shopping District.

"I'll take the area with the shrine and church." Ryouta said. "I don't think anyone else was planning on looking there anyway." Another figure was drawn in the corresponding district.

"I'll take the forest-y place!" Kumiko said, raising her hand and jumping in place. "It seems like the best place to go!"

"I guess I'll look around the area with the theater and karaoke bar." Takara said, pointing at the spot on the map.

"And that leaves me with the Health Center and hot springs." Satoshi said. "That went pretty smoothly."

"Should we not bother with the places where people were already killed?" Masaru asked. "If she is dead, then I doubt we'd find her in any of those areas. It would seem redundant."

"Even though it's safe to rule out those areas, there's no harm in checking them in case she's still alive." Takara said.

"Maybe those areas should be saved for last in that case." Satoshi said. "That way we have a compromise."

"So that means the laundromat, the karaoke bar, and here." Ryouta said.

"What if we find 'er?" Kazumi asked.

"Just go to the nearest area and find who's searching there." Takara said. "And if you finish looking in your area and can't find her, just go somewhere else and help them."

"Alrightie! I think we got everything!" Kumiko said. "Let the search for Mimiya begin!" Everyone ran out of the restaurant and split up, heading in their own directions. Takara ran down the path leading to the Entertainment District, praying that the worst wasn't true. Entering the clearing, she figured things out in her head. There were five buildings here she had to search, one she needed to save for last. The casino, the theater, the arcade, the museum, and the karaoke bar. She decided to start in the smallest of the buildings, heading into the arcade.

She looked around every game machine, but had no luck. There wasn't even any sign she was here. She left the building and made her way towards the next one. The casino wasn't very large, so she thought it would also be an easy place to search. But once again, no sign she was ever there. All the tables and machines remained untouched. She sighed, this wasn't going to be easy. Leaving the building, she saw Ryouta running up to her. "Any luck?" she asked.

"No, the place was empty." Ryotua said, stopping to catch his breath. The boy was out of shape or something. "I came here to help you look. Where've you already gone to?"

"The arcade and the casino." Takara said. "I was gonna go to the theater next."

"Well what are we standing here for?! Let's go already!" Ryouta insisted.

"Shouldn't you take a moment to rest? You seem out of it." Takara said.

"We don't have time to rest! I just want to find Miyako and get on with my day!" Ryouta said. "No let's hurry up!"

Takara rolled her eyes. This dude was something else. Not willing to argue, the two rn into the theater. They agreed to split up the area to make things go faster. Takara would search the lobby while Ryouta looked in the theaters. They turned the place upside down with no luck. Figuring it was useless to stay there, the two walked outside and made their way towards the museum.

"KARINS! RYOSE!" The sound of Kumiko's voice echoed throughout the district, grabbing the attention of the journalist and florist. Kumiko ran up to them with tears in her eyes. Oh no. "I found Mimiya!" she said.

The three ran to the final district, Ryouta heaving by the time they got there. Kumiko lead them to the obstacle course and brought them to an open door. One of the locker rooms. "She's in there..." Kumiko said, pointing inside the door as she looked away. Takara and Ryouta walked inside, the worst coming true before their eyes.

On the wall was a large spot of blood. Lying down on the ground was Miyako, blood streaming down the side of her head. Her hoodie was missing, no where to be found in the room. Her eyes were still open, frozen in what could only be fear. Lying a few feet away from the body was a gun.

This wasn't supposed to happen. They were trying to prevent this. But here the truth was overwhelming, and Takara was ready to start crying. She could feel herself shaking, she didn't want to believe it even though it was right in front of her. But Miyako Morino, the student who was supposed to have good luck, was dead.

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was supposed to be another Masaru FTE in this chapter, but I just couldn't fit it in. Oh well, I'm planning on writing something to fix that problem anyway.


	44. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Deadly Life (Investigation)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, if you guys have been paying attention to what I've been writing or have followed me on tumblr, you'll know that I've hopped on the Mystery Skulls bandwagon. That and I went to a con this weekend. But here's the investigation, and the trial will be soon to follow.

Everyone found themselves gathered in the locker room, staring at Miyako's corpse. Although they expressed it in different ways, everyone was clearly shocked. Here they were, standing over another body. Someone had killed her, the reason unknown to everyone but the culprit. "So we have to do it again..." Masaru said. "We have to go through another trial..."

"You sure do!" Monokuma said. No one was even startled by his appearance, they were all too used to it. "You know, for you guys saying that you'd stop killing, you're not very good at keeping your word, are you?"

"Jus' shut up an' give us da shitty file!" Kazumi shouted.

"Cutting straight to the chase, I see! I like that!" Monokuma said. He handed out the Monokuma File to the remaining students. "Well then, I'll be getting the courtroom ready. If ya need me, then just holler out! Then again, I might not feel like answering. Farewell!" He ran behind the door, no doubt vanishing once again.

"Alright, now that we got the file, should we station guards again?" Satoshi asked.

"No, there's not enough of us anymore." Takara said. "All six of us need to investigate to the best of our abilities."

"But what if someone tries to mess up Mimiya?" Kumiko asked, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.

"There's just gonna have to be at least two people in here at all times." Ryouta said. "They don't have to guard the body, but they need to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"While we're at it, I don' wanna hear nobody tryin' ta stick da blame on someone." Kazumi said, crossing her arms. "Like Tsukuda said, dere's only six of us. We don' got da luxury ta blame people without proof. Got dat?" She seemed to glare at Ryouta.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Ryouta spat. "I'm done doing that, I've learned my lesson."

"I'm jus' makin' sure." Kazumi said.

"Well then, let's look at this Monokuma File." Masaru said. Everyone turned to the tablet and looked over the information.

**The victim is Miyako Morino. She was killed around approximately 7 a.m. sharp. Her body was found in the girls locker room of the obstacle course building. Cause of death is a bullet delivered to the head. There are no notable wounds on the body.**

"She was killed right at the end of nighttime, huh?" Kumiko asked. "How could anyone have done that?"

"Well, we don't go straight to breakfast once nighttime is over." Takara explained. "Someone could've easily killed her and went to breakfast like nothing happened."

"Does anyone have an alibi?" Satoshi asked.

"I fell unconscious last night." Takara said. "I was out for hours. It wasn't until a quarter after the murder time that I woke up. But that's not really an alibi I guess."

"I don't really have one either." Masaru said. "I went to the kitchen to get breakfast ready, but no one was with me so I can't prove it otherwise."

"I couldn' sleep."

"I was playing a super cool game to try and take my mind off of all the super stress!"

"I wanted to tend to a flower I've been working on lately, so I was busy."

"And I was getting ready for breakfast." Satoshi said. "So that means none of us have alibis. Anyone could've done it."

"But why kill Mimiya?" Kumiko asked. "She was, like, the quietest person out of everybody! She didn't make any enemies out of anyone!"

"Remember Monokuma's motive?" Kazumi asked. "It don' matter who it was, da culprit jus' wanted ta keep themselves from bein' discovered."

"But Mimiya did nothing wrong!" Kumiko said. "I mean, I barely knew her but she wasn't bad! I can sense it!"

"That probably didn't matter to the killer." Satoshi said with his head hung low. "She was here, she would be enough."

"We should save this discussion for the trial." Takara said. "The longer we chat here, the less time we have to investigate."

"She's right." Masaru said. "Let's just get to it and gather evidence."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. The six of them split up in different corners of the room. Takara tried to think about where to search first. Obviously the body would need to be examined, along with the room. Miyako's room was another place to go. And anywhere else that would seem important was worth searching as well. Without waiting for a prompt, she began her investigation.

She walked over to the body, which was being looked over by Ryouta. She recalled the cause of death. A bullet to the head, what a terrible way to go. At least her death was quick and painless. "Find anything interesting?" she asked.

Ryouta flinched before looking at the person in front of him, letting out a sigh of relief. "You could be louder when you walk, you know." he said. "And no, I haven't found much. It's just as the file said. There's a bullet wound on the right side of her head, no other injuries are on her, it looks like a simple murder."

"It looks simple, but is it really?" Takara asked, placing her hand on her chin. She knelled down to get a better look. There had to be something they were missing. "What about her missing hoodie? That seems pretty strange."

"True, she never took that damn thing off. It was like it meant more than her life." Ryouta said. "Maybe the culprit took it?"

"But why?" Takara said. "What would that hoodie have that the culprit would want?" Her eyes glanced down at Miyako's hand, something shining underneath it. She raised the hand carefully, picking up whatever rested under it. Setting the hand down, she noticed that it was a key. Not one of the card shaped keys that went to their rooms, but an average looking key you'd see anywhere. "What's this go to?" she asked.

Ryouta looked at the key, trying to take in the details. "It doesn't look like one of the locker keys, so it must go to something else." he said.

"The only question is what that is." Takara said.

"You could try it on every lock in this resort, but you wouldn't have time to complete the investigation." Ryouta said. "The only thing we can guess is that the culprit owned it, or it was Miyako's."

"Whatever it is, it seems important." Takara said. She opened her bag and placed the key inside. "I'm holding on to this, you never know what it might reveal." She made a mental reminder to test it out on a few places later. She looked down at where the gun lied, trying to examine it. She was no expert on guns, so she had no idea what it was.

"Looks like a revolver to me." From out of nowhere, Kumiko was standing behind her and leaning over her shoulder. She walked over and picked up the gun, opening it's chamber. "There's five bullets in here, and it's safe to say the missing one's the one that killed poor Mimiya."

Takara was about to ask how Kumiko knew about guns, but remembered that the girl did research for her comics. "So the killer only needed to shoot her once." she said. "They didn't miss her, which means they have to be a good shot. That or they just got lucky."

"But how's that possible?" Kumiko asked. "The odds of shooting Mimiya with one bullet AND killing her are like, a zillion to one!"

"Maybe they sneaked up on her, that way she wouldn't know until it was too late." Takara suggested.

"I dunno, Mimiya is sneaky, like an assassin!" Kumiko said. "It'd be hard to sneak up on her!" She had a point. Miyako was good at moving without making a sound. She'd seemingly materialize out of thin air. Takara had meant to ask how she did that, but now she'd never know.

"Who knows?" she said. "All we can do is try to figure out who did it."

"But what I wanna know is, where'd they even get a revolver in the first place? It's not like they're lying around in an abandoned city gone to hell. We're not even underwater!" Kumiko said.

"But there is one place that has guns." Takara said. "How they got to them doesn't make any sense though."

"By the way, I found something really really suspicious!" Kumiko said. She lead Takara over to one of the shorter lockers. The door was slightly ajar and the key was missing. "Look in here!" she opened the door and revealed that the locker was filled with contents. The first notable object was Miyako's hoodie, bunched up and spotless. The other objects were the bracelet Miyako wore, an e-Handbook, a room key, and what looked like a CD or DVD disc. These were some odd items to leave in a locker.

"How'd you find this?" Takara asked.

"Welllllll, I noticed a little locker key sitting on top of this!" Kumiko said. "The door was shut though, so I opened it up to see if I could find some cool looking clues! and it turns out all of this was in here! I guess I just got lucky!"

"But why put all of this in a locker?" Takara asked, picking up the items. The e-Handbook was definitely Miyako's, but something seemed off about the room key. There was a word written on it in English, and the colors were different. What was so special about this room key? She tucked it away and decided to check it out later.

"Maybe the culprit tried to hide 'em!" Kumiko said.

"But why hide all these and not the gun?" Takara asked. "It'd make more sense then hiding a hoodie and a bracelet."

"I dunno. Maybe Mimiya was trying to put them in before her brains got blasted out!" Kumiko stated. She picked up the disc, looking over it carefully. "Wonder what this thingie is."

"Why don't you try to find out?" Takara suggested. "We have DVD players in our rooms, so I'm sure it'll work."

"Great idea, Karins!" I'm gonna go check it out right now! I don't wanna stay in here anyway." Kumiko ran off with the disc in hand. Hopefully it wasn't a waste of time. The only thing of interest left was the bloodstain.

Takara walked over to the wall and tried to figure things out. Kazumi was also looking over the stain, in a state of thought Takara hadn't seen her in before. "You figured something out there?" she asked.

"Well she had ta be close to da wall for it ta be dis size." Kazumi said. "An' considerin' da way her body's positioned, it looks like she was standing right next ta it. She must'a got shot from da right side. Which means da killer had ta be standin' straight across da room from her at da farthest." She walked over to the other side of the room, straight in front of the doorway. "Any farther den dis an' it wouldn' work."

"How'd you figure that out?" Takara asked.

"Livin' on da bad side a' town, ya learn a few things. Even if ya don' wanna." Kazumi said. "I've seen a lotta fights break out, let's jus' leave it at dat. I ain't bok smart, but I'm sure as shit street smart."

So the culprit had to shoot her from a specific angle for the killer to have hit Miyako. That was important. She looked around the rest of the room. Nothing else seemed to catch her interest, and Masaru and Satoshi were nowhere to be seen. They must've gone off looking for clues elsewhere. Takara left the room as well, the objects she found in her bag. There were other places she had to examine and not that much time to do it.

She immediately made her way to the shooting range. There's only one place that gun could've been from, and it was there. Walking through the gun door, she gazed over all the cases. If her guess was correct, then there would be one missing. Just as she suspected, there was an empty spot in the pistols case. But the case was locked up tight. She recalled what she was told the first time she came here. Sucking up her pride, she called out "Monokuma!"

Within seconds, the bear was standing beside her. "Hello there! How can I be of service?" he asked.

"One of the pistols is missing, and I'm pretty sure it's that revolver lying at the scene." Takara explained. "I need to know if anyone asked you to unlock the gun case."

"But if I told you who it was, that'd spoil the big twist! It's like skipping to the final act before reading the prologue!" Monokuma said.

"I don't need to know who it was, just if anyone did." Takara clarified.

"Well I'm afraid you're out of luck! No one came to me and asked for a gun!" Monokuma answered.

Well that was a lost cause. So if they didn't ask Monokuma for a gun, how did they get the revolver? "Wait a minute! Didn't you say that we can't take the guns or archery equipment out of their ranges?" she asked, remembering the other information he told her.

"You must have cotton in your ears, because I never said that!" Monokuma said, crossing his arms. "I only told you that you can't take them into the other ranges. I don't care what you do with them otherwise! Why would I give you access to arrows and guns without letting you use the to commit bloody murder?"

Great. All this did was give her more questions. "Alright, you can go." she said with a sigh. Without even his signature laugh, Monokuma vanished. None of this was making sense. How could someone take a gun from the case without the key?

An idea came to her. Takara pulled out the key she found under Miyako's hand and stuffed it into the cases lock. It opened up without a hitch. This couldn't be the key to the case, could it? It didn't feel right! She stuffed the key back into her bag and headed out the door. She had some theories to test out.

\-----------------------------------

Kumiko couldn't believe what she was watching. This DVD couldn't be telling the truth. She didn't understand it, she didn't even want to believe it. She didn't even know how far she was, but she didn't care. She stopped the DVD and placed it back in it's case. "This is lying." she told herself. "It has to be lying!" Yet the voice in her head told her that it was real. That it was important. And that was the only thing keeping her from throwing it away and acting like it never existed.

\------------------------------------

Takara went into the hotel and made her way down the first floor halls. She stood in front of the door labeled "Manager's Office", the key she found in hand. This was a stupid idea, and she knew it, but she had to make sure. If only to make the stupid idea go away. She took a deep breath and stuck the key into the lock, turning it in the hopes it would open. Just when she expected it to fail, she pushed the door and found that it opened.

"What." she said, unwilling to believe that it worked. She shut the door and locked it back up, staring at the key in her hands. "But this unlocked the case in the shooting range! Why is it opening this room too?!"

"Muist be a skeleton key." Takara turned her head, finding Satoshi standing there. "At least, that's what I'd guess."

"What's a skeleton key?" Takara asked.

"You don't know? Man, I thought you'd know exactly what it is, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. "Well, a skeleton key is a key that can unlock anything. At least in simple terms. More specifically, it can refer to three different types of keys."

"What kind of keys are those?" Takara asked.

"The first type is a key that's been filed or cut so it can bypass warded locks." Satoshi explained. "These are referred to as warded keys. Then there's the lever lock key. These keys tend to be called skeleton keys due to their similar look to a skeleton. Finally, and this one doesn't apply to what you've got, the third type is a card key that contains information that's needed to open specific locks."

Takara's eyes went wide. "Did you say a card key?" she asked, grabbing his shoulders.

"Yep. I sure did!" Satoshi said with a grin.

Takara opened her bag and dug through it, grabbing the card key she found in the locker. "You mean like this?" she asked, showing the card.

Satoshi took it in his hands and examined it for a moment before handing it back. "I'd say this could be one." he answered. "But where'd you get this?"

"It was in a locker at the crime scene." Takara said. "Same with this key." She held up the key she was using moments ago.

"Looks like someone had these on them the whole time without telling us." Satoshi said. "But who?"

"I can think of two people." Takara said. "The first is the thief. These would allow them to take whatever they needed without breaking the rules. The second one is the mole. They already had their memories before Monokuma enlisted them, so maybe whoever left us here gave them these keys."

"That makes sense." Satoshi said. "Now that I think about it, the key might be a master key."

"You mean a key meant to open a number of locks?" Takara asked.

"Exactly." Satoshi said.

"But why would all the locks be similar to each other?" Takara asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"No, what makes no sense is why someone tried to hide these keys." Satoshi said. "Was there anything else in that locker?"

"Well, there was Miyako's hoodie, her bracelet, and a DVD that Kumiko went to watch." Takara said, listing off everything she found.

"That's an odd set of items to hide." Satoshi said. "But they all must connect in some way."

"None of this is making any sense." Takara said, placing her hand on her head. "It's making my headache come back."

"Don't worry, Kara-chan." Satoshi said, placing his hand on her shoulder. I'm sure with a little more investigating, we'll be able to figure things out!" Takara smiled, at least she had a friend willing to help her through this.

Just as he finished talking, the monitors turned on and showed Monokuma's face. "They say that all the world's a stage, and the people in it merely actors." The bear said. "And I have a feeling that this play of ours will soon reach its ending. To the actors who are still alive, please proceed down the path behind the hotel and report to the mountain! I can't wait to see how this little play goes. Will hope continue to survive, or will despair finally win the day?" The monitors shut off.

"What the hell?! We didn't get nearly enough time to investigate!" Takara said. "How're we supposed to solve the case when there wasn't enough time?!"

"Calm down, Kara-chan!" Satoshi said. "I'm sure what the others have found will prove to be useful! We've been able to solve every other case thrown at us, and this won't be any different!"

"I don't know, Satoshi. It just seems like I know so little about this case." Takara said.

"But you're not going through this alone, we're all working together." Satoshi said. "You have to believe in us. We'll find the murderer if we just work as a team, like we said we would."

Takara sighed. "I guess you're right." she said. "Come on, let's go get this over with." The two of them made the trek to the clearing, which seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. Everyone except for Kumiko was already there.

"Eh? Akamine ain't with ya?" Kazumi asked.

"No, I haven't seen her for a while." Takara said.

"I'm here, I'm here." They turned around and saw Kumiko enter the clearing. "No need to worry about me."

"Well, that makes all of us." Masaru said. "Now we just have to wait for the bear."

Just as he said it, Monokuma spawned in the center of the clearing. "Man, I'd forgotten how few of you there were!" he said. "And we're about to witness another loss on top of that! You kids just drop like flies, huh?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Ryouta said.

"What? No snappy comeback from Hoshino?" Monokuma said. "What a pity, what a shame! I'd grown so accustomed to those!"

"Can we just get things started already?" Takara asked. "You're the one who was so excited to see the results of this."

"Oh, that's right! Thank you for reminding me, Tsukuda!" Monokuma said. "You all know the drill, so I ain't gonna tell ya what to do. I'll be waiting at the courtroom for you all!" Everyone looked at each other, no one dared to speak. They knew what was waiting up ahead. They silently entered the cave and reached the platform, which felt so empty and filled with space. Satoshi pushed the button, sending it forward. The six of them had vowed to never go through this again, and yet here they were making their way to the trial ground.

No one had known much about Miyako. She had always been distant and quiet, only speaking her mind when she needed to. She said she had a plan to stop all the fighting, and yet now she was dead. Now they would never know about the girl who was accepted through sheer dumb luck, though whether it was good or bad was up in the air. The sound of the platform coming to a stop was the last sound anyone wanted to hear, but they had to accept it. They got off and stood in front of the door for a moment, wondering if this was all worth it. There would only be five of them left, nearly a fourth of their original number. Takara tried to force back her negative thoughts as she opened the doors, setting the stage and pulling back the curtains of the fifth trial of life and death.

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	45. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Class Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be so glad to be done with this chapter.

The six remaining students gathered up in the trial room, not even batting an eye at the new appearance. The gray walls were designed to give off a prison-like appearance, with bars lining up against them. The floor was made out of stone, no carpet or rug to speak of. Around the screen above Monokuma's throne was barb wire. The entire athmosphere felt cold and unwelcoming. Takara even swore she could feel a chill in the room. "What's this, no fancy set-up this time around?" Ryouta asked.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood for it." Monokuma said. "I thought a minimalist feel would work so much better this time!"

"I wouldn't call this minimalist..." Kumiko said. "I feel like we're all being arrested."

"Call it whatever you want, so long as it gets the show moving faster!" Monokuma said.

Everyone took their places, finding that all of them were surrounded by photo frames on either side with the new additions. In-between Ryouta and where Shizuka once stood was Arata's picture, the X customized once again to look like sewing needles. Miyako's photo was added as well, settled next to Chiyo's and Shigeru's pictures. There were so many photo stands now, reminding them of all the friends they lost because of this stupid game. It caused a shiver to go through Takara. Was there really someone among them who killed Miyako? She didn't want to believe it. But this was the only way she could be certain that no one had done it.

"The victim was Miyako Morino." Kumiko began. "The time of death was around 7 a.m. sharp, and she was found in the obstacle course's girls locker room. The cause of death was a shot through the head. There are no other wounds on the body. That's everything!"

"So where to go from here?" Masaru asked.

"No point talkin' 'bout alibis or nothin' like dat. None of us got one." Kazumi said. "So we'll talk 'bout da weapon I guess."

"Considering the fatal wound was a shot to the head, we can assume that a gun was used." Satoshi said.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Ryouta said. "The weapon was there at the crime scene!"

"It seems strange that the weapon was just left there though." Takara said. "In most of the previous murders, the culprit tried to hide the weapon in some way."

"Kai lost the pen after he killed Chi-Chi, Aya moved Hikuharu so we wouldn't find the razor, and the pervert stabbed Yoshi with a knife to distract us from the poison!" Kumiko said, recalling the previous cases.

"Shizuka's da only one who didn' hide da weapons she used." Kazumi said, looking over at the painter's picture. "An' dat's 'cuz she was tryin' ta get caught."

"So why leave the gun where it is?" Takara asked.

"Maybe the culprit was trying to get caught this time like Shizuka did?" Masaru asked.

"I don't know, if they wanted to be caught then they'd try to be more obvious about it. At least in my opinion." Takara said. That and there were other factors that made it seem like getting found out wasn't the culprit's intentions.

"Maybe they were in a hurry when they killed Miyako!" Ryouta said. "They didn't want to seem suspicious, so after killing her they dropped the gun and ran away!"

"Or maybe dey were jus' bein' lazy?" Kazumi said.

"Actually, they probably wanted us to know that they killed her with that gun." Kumiko said. "I mean, there isn't really anything else that causes a shot in the head, you know?"

"That makes the most sense." Takara said. "No point in removing the weapon when it's obvious. Anything can cause a blow to the head or be used to stab someone, but shooting someone makes it clear that you used a gun."

"So where'd the culprit even get a gun in the first place?" Ryouta asked.

"There's only one place on this island where a gun can be found." Takara said. "And that's the shooting gallery."

"I even checked the place myself, and a pistol was gone." Masaru said. "So it had to come from there."

"It's a revolver to be precise!" Kumiko stated.

"So we jus' wasted time talkin' 'bout a weapon in plain sight?" Kazumi asked.

"I wouldn't say that." Satoshi said. "Sometimes the obvious answers are the key to the answers you seek."

"That and there's something strange about the gun." Takara said.

"Wha'cha mean by strange?" Kazumi asked.

"All the guns in the shooting gallery are locked behind cases." Masaru explained. "And the one that had the revolver in it was locked up when I saw it. But the key wasn't anywhere to be found."

"So how'd they get the gun from behind a locked case?!" Ryouta asked.

"We can rule out breaking the case, I'm guessing?" Satoshi asked.

"Maybe they phased their hand through the glass?" Kumiko asked.

"Wait a sec', Monokuma has da key, don' he?" Kazumi asked. "Den it's obvious! Da culprit asked 'im ta open it!"

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Monokuma told me that no one asked him to unlock the cases. So the gun was obtained in a different way."

"An' how can we trust 'im ta tell da truth 'bout dat?" Kazumi asked.

"As much as I'd love to see you kiddos fall into despair, I'm obligated by my own rules to answer any questions asked." Monokuma explained. "Well, to an extent that is. It wouldn't be fair if I could tell you everything!"

"See? Monokuma has to follow the rules just as we do." Takara said. "So if he said nobody asked to open the cases, then I have to believe him."

"So if they didn't ask Monokuma, then how did the case get opened?" Masaru asked.

"Maybe they took the key from Monokuma when he wasn't looking!" Ryouta said. "There _is_ a theif among us after all, and they've stolen from under his nose before!"

"Sorry, but the key is kept safe in my own room, somewhere you brats aren't allowed to go!" Monokuma explained. "And as someone who saw the murders happen, I know that the key wasn't stolen!"

"Besides, wouldn't the culprit have been punished if they stole the key?" Takara asked. "If he saw someone using his key when it just so happened to go missing, the one who stole it would be punished in a second."

"So how did dat gun leave da shootin' range?!" Kazumi asked, leaning forward and gripping her stand. It was a miracle her grip wasn't breaking it.

"Simple, there was a different key involved." Satoshi said with a smile.

"Huh? Another key?" Kumiko asked.

"Under Miyako's body, I saw a key." Takara said. "But not just any key, a key that can open any lock!"

"What?! There was a key like that this whole time?!" Ryouta asked.

"It's either a skeleton key, or a master key. I'm not so sure which one it is." Satoshi said with a nervous laugh. "But it's able to open more than one lock. Kara-chan and I tested it ourselves."

"So who had dis key in da first place?" Kazumi asked.

"We don't know." Takara said. "The only two people I can think of are the theif, or the mole."

"The theif would've been able to use it to get into Monokuma's files without getting in trouble." Ryouta said. "They could go inside that Manager's Office and steal whatever they wanted. But the mole could use it for sneaking around. If that key can open any lock in the resort, they'd only trust it with whoever still had their memories."

"There was also this." Takara said, she pulled out the card key she found in the locker. "One of the lockers at the crime scene held some strange items in them. Kumiko noticed it was unlocked and directed me to it. This was one of the items inside. I didn't have the chance to test it, but if it's what I think it is then it can unlock any of the hotel rooms."

"Well it does say 'Master' on it, so it's gotta be the ultimate room key!" Kumiko said.

"So someone had these two keys that gave them unlimited access to the resort." Masaru said. "Takara, what else was in that locker?"

"An e-Handbook, Miyako's hoodie, a charm bracelet she wore, and a disc of some kind." Takara said. "The e-Handbook belonged to Miyako, I turned it on and checked it myself."

"What 'bout dat disc?" Kazumi asked.

"I didn't have the chance to watch it." Takara said. "But Kumiko did."

"Well then, why don't you tell us what was on there, Kumiko?" Satoshi asked.

Kumiko flinched, and she refused to look at anyone. "I, erm, didn't get to finish watching it!" she said. "The investigation thingy ended before I could!"

"Then what did you get to see?" Masaru asked.

"It's not important!" Kumiko insisted. "I mean, not to the discussion at hand that is! It's all completely useless!"

"She's clearly not gonna talk, so let's just drop it." Ryouta said. "Besides, we know how the killer got the weapon now, so we should move on."

"Let's talk about how Miyako was killed then." Masaru said.

"But she was shot, we already know dat." Kazumi said.

"No, I mean we should go more in depth." Masaru said. "You know, try to figure out how the culprit did it from all angles."

"Well I can tell you one thing, the culprit was obviously one of the girls!" Ryouta said, pointing at all three girls one by one.

"Huh?! I thought you weren't gonna blame people anymore!" Kumiko said.

"It's not that!" Ryouta said. "Miyako was killed in a locker room, remember? The boys can't enter a girl's locker room or we'll be punished! So the killer has to be Takara, Kazumi, or Kumiko!"

"Actually, it ain't automatically one 'a us." Kazumi said.

"Sorry, but I have to agree with Ryouta. There's no way one of the boys could kill her." Masaru said.

"If dey were standin' inside da locker room, yeah. But what if they weren't?" Kazumi asked. "Morino's wound suggests dat da gun had ta be near da door at da farthest."

"That doesn't change the fact that the killer would need to be in the room though!" Ryouta insisted.

"I said da _gun_ , not da _killer_ , ya fuckin' dipshit." Kazumi said.

"She's saying that the gun needed to be the same distance as the door in order for the bullet to have killed Miyako." Takara said. "If the door to the locker room was open, someone could've shot her without entering the room. Am I right?"

"Exactly!" Kazumi said.

"So if the killer didn't need to enter the room, then they're not female by default." Satoshi said.

"...Oh." Ryouta said. "Well anyway, she was definitely shot from her right side."

"She had ta be close ta da wall too." Kazumi said. "Otherwise dere wouldn' be a blood splatter on da wall."

"And they hit her with only one bullet!" Kumiko said.

"Looks like someone's a sharp shooter." Satoshi said.

"If they only used one bullet, Miyako probably didn't even know they were coming." Masaru said.

Wait, something wasn't right. Miyako didn't know the killer was coming? But that's impossible, unless she left the door open then she'd have heard something. And there was no way she had left it open. So how did the killer...

Takara's eyes went wide. There was only one possibility, and it was one she didn't want to think of. It just didn't seem right! But there was no other way, she had to come to terms with that. "Hold on a second." she said, looking down at her feet. "I...think we've been looking at this the wrong way."

"Huh? Wat'cha mean, Tsukuda?" Kazumi asked.

"I might've figured out who the killer is." Takara said.

"Well then spit it out! Don't leave the rest of us hanging!" Ryouta said.

"The culprit of this case...was Miyako. She killed herself..."


	46. Chapter 5 - Fear Of Falling Apart - Class Trial II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a friend of mine has a Dangan Ronpa fic of her own involving her OC's, and she just put it up on AO3 yesterday. If you could, I ask you to read it. While it does focus more on her characters, mine show up in it as it's about what happened before the School Life of Mutual Killing. And it delves more into the events that happened that caused the 79th class to escape. So if you could go check out Hope's Twilight, I would be really grateful. Plus it'll help make more sense of the next chapter. Go check it out here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2616014/chapters/5831798

No one knew how to respond to that. Miyako, kill herself? That was impossible! "But why?!" Masaru asked, leaning over his stand to look at Takara. "Why would Miyako commit suicide?!"

"She told me she had a plan. A plan that would stop the petty arguing." Takara explained. "But I had no idea _this_ is what she had in mind."

"No way, dat can't be it!" Kazumi said, grabbing hold of her podium. "Morino's plan couldn' be ta fuckin' off herself!"

"Don't you try to tell me that she was trying to use an Evoker either! Even I know that things don't work like that in the real world!" Kumiko shouted, the girl on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, but there's just no other conclusion that makes sense to me!" Takara said. "How could Miyako not know her killer was coming?! Why was that skeleton key under her hand?! Why was her hoodie, bracelet, and e-Handbook all in that locker?! There's no other answer!" She slammed her fist against the podium. "Unless you can think of any other reason than I'd love to fucking hear it!"

"Kara-chan, calm down!" Satoshi said, reaching out from across the stand.

"How the hell can I calm down at a time like this?!" Takara asked, her breathing getting heavy. "Someone committed suicide, god dammit!"

"Getting worked up over this won't help solve the case!" Ryouta shouted. "I didn't know Miyako, so I'm not gonna try and convince you that her death leaves a giant impact on me. But her killing herself is something to mourn over later! Right now, we have a case to solve, and you're the only one who has any remote idea of what you're doing! Now get a grip on yourself!"

Masaru left his spot and walked to Takara, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around to face him. "Takara, it's going to be okay." he said, looking her dead in the eyes. "Like Ryouta said, getting worked up over this won't help solve the case. We're here for you, we'll get you through this! But we need you. Otherwise, we'd be shaming those who we already lost! Chiyo, Hikaru, Naomi, Shigeru, Minoru, you solved their murders and this shouldn't be any different. We can get through this, _you_ can get through this. So come on, don't let Miyako's death be in vain."

Takara turned around, seeing the faces of everyone else looking at her with sympathy. They were counting on her, she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her at a time like this. She took a deep breath and faced Masaru. "You're right." she said. "Let's do this."

Masaru smiled at her. "Now that's the Takara I met all those weeks ago." he said.

"Yeesh! Enough with the mushy touchy-feely crap!" Monokuma said. "In case you've all forgotten, you're in the middle of a class trial! You're supposed to be debating with each other!"

"Right, I'm sorry." Takara said, turning back to face the stands. Masaru returned to his own spot. "Let's continue."

"So yer sayin' Morino killed herself." Kazumi said. "So dat means she's da one who had dose special keys."

"Which means she was the spy, or the thief." Satoshi said. "But why kill herself?"

"Being in either position would mean she had the free ability to go wherever she wanted." Masaru said. "Maybe she didn't want anyone to know she was one or the other and took that secret to the grave?"

"But then why would she leave the skeleton key under her hand instead of hide it with everything else?" Takara said.

"Actually, what if her suicide had nothing to do with that?" Ryouta asked. "She may have killed herself, but that doesn't mean we're free from being considered the culprit."

"What are you saying?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, let me speak hypothetically here." Ryouta said. "Say that, I dunno, Masaru told Miyako to kill herself."

"Is there any reason why you chose me?" Masaru asked.

"You were just the first person to come to mind, okay!" Ryouta snapped. "Anyway, say that Miyako took his words to heart, and decided 'I better kill myself now'. That would make Masaru her murderer, right?"

"What d'ya say, Monokuma? Is he right?" Kazumi asked, looking over at their headmaster.

"Wow, I guess I never thought of that!" Monokuma said. "Well, I suppose that if one person told her to kill herself, and that was her primary motivation, then the one who told her to die would be held responsible for Morino's death and be tried as her killer! However, if she killed herself for other reasons, then she would be considered her murderer!"

"What if more than one person told her to kill herself?" Satoshi asked.

"Using the scenario Hoshino gave, If Nishioka told her to die and Katsuya or someone else joined in, the one who initially made the first comment would be considered her murderer!" Monokuma explained.

"So then we need ta find out why she died?" Kazumi asked. "How da fuck are we gonna do dat?!"

"Nothing at the crime scene suggested what her reason could be." Takara said.

"I went to examine her room, but I didn't find anything of use." Masaru said.

"So we're stuck then?!" Ryouta asked, his eyes shifting around the room.

"...Say Kumiko, you've been pretty quiet for a while." Satoshi said. "That's not like you at all, is there something on your mind?" Everyone turned to the comic artist. Takara hadn't even realized how silent she was. It was unnerving to say the least.

Without speaking a word, Kumiko took out the DVD she had found earlier. "Teddie, can that monitor thingy of yours play this?" she asked.

"You betcha!" Monokuma answered.

"Then play it." Kumiko said. Monokuma bounced from his throne to Kumiko, stepping on the photo stands in the process. She handed the disc to him.

"I'll just need a minute to set this all up, so hold on tight!" Monokuma said, bouncing back to his throne.

"Kumiko, I thought you said that DVD didn't have anything useful on it?" Takara asked.

"No, I said it had nothing to do with the topic at the time." Kumiko replied. "But I think this is gonna tell us everything we need. I can sense it."

"How the hell can you sense it?" Ryouta asked.

"It was in that locker with the key and Miyako's other things." Satoshi said. "Maybe she left something for us."

"Only one way ta find out." Kazumi said.

"Okay! It's all ready!" Monokuma said. "Turn your attention to the screen above!" Everyone looked up at the large screen, anticipating themselves for the worst. To everyone's shock, Miyako came on-screen. But something was different. Her usual stoic expression was gone, as she took a deep breath and smiled.

"Hi." she said. "If you're watching this, then I guess I'm dead. I don't know if only one person is watching, or if all of you are, but I know that most of you must be shocked. Don't worry, it'll all make sense in time. You should all know that I haven't been completely honest with all of you, and I'm sorry. I was instructed not to tell you anything, but the circumstances have changed thanks to Monokuma. No point dodging the subject, so I'll just tell you straight out. I'm the one who didn't lose their memory."

What?! Miyako was the one who still had her memories?! Then that meant she was also...

"I'm sure you've worked out by now that that makes me Monokuma's mole. You're probably wondering why I would work for him. Well, I didn't have all my memory when I came in. There were bits and pieces that just didn't add up, and it felt like something was missing. After Ayame was executed and those things appeared in our rooms, I realized that all my memory of the seventeenth and eighteenth students was gone. So I went to Monokuma hoping to get answers. But then he trapped me.

"He made me become his mole and said he would tell me about the missing students if I did what he asked. I was supposed to gather information so he could set up his motives, and find out whatever you might have been saying in places he couldn't track you. I didn't want to betray you, but he threatened to rat me out if I didn't. I hope you can forgive me."

"I couldn't watch it after this..." Kumiko said. "It was too much..."

"But I've decided that this 'game' can't go on any longer." Miyako's expression hardened. "My job was to keep anything from happening, and yet I allowed too many of you to die. And thanks to this new motive, it looks like another murder will happen at any moment. But I'm taking one step ahead. You all seem to work together when a body's discovered, but I'm not about to kill any of you myself. So once I finish recording this video will, I don't really have a better name for it, I'm going to shoot myself in the head and take myself out of the game.

"Obviously, the better outcome of my plan will happen if anyone watches this. You'll proclaim me as my own murderer, and the six of you can continue going on. I believe that you can all stop Monokuma. The fact that he took away my memories of our other classmates means that they have something to do with him. Find out what that is.

"You're probably wondering why I said 'the better outcome of my plan'. If no one had watched this, then you'd be unable to find the true culprit and would be executed in the process."

"What'd she just say?!" Ryouta asked.

"I'd rather not have that be the case, but I have to make sure this killing game ends with me no matter what. Even if it means I must kill you as well." Miyako continued. "But I have faith in you. I've known you all for a long time, so I know that you can figure this out. Still, it's best to think ahead in the worst case scenario.

"It's been painful these past few weeks to keep my distance from you all. I'm not the stoic girl you met all those days ago. But I had to, otherwise I'd risk telling you something you weren't supposed to know. It's a relief to finally do this." Miyako tried to smile, and it looked like she was starting to cry.

"I'm afraid to die, by my own hands no less. But sometimes...one must be sacrificed for the good of the many. So I'll try to remind myself that this is for all of you, for your survival. Don't let Monokuma win."

"Upupupu, that's gotta be the most despairing thing I've ever seen, wouldn't ya say?" Monokuma asked, waiting for the students faces to fall in despair.

"Oh right, one last thing." Miyako continued. "If you're all watching this during the trial, then there's something I have to say to you, Monokuma." The bear flinched, glancing back up at the screen. "I may not know who you are, or what your plan is, but just because I was working for you doesn't mean I wasn't working against you. I know you've done something to keep others from entering the resort, and I've been working on a way to break it down. I've been successful actually. That thief of yours isn't any of the students playing in this game. I was working with the people outside, and they brought them in. They were never part of the vacation students, so you have no power over them. You may think you're winning, that everything is going by your own little script, but I've decided to improv. Game over, 'headmaster'."

The DVD ended. The courtroom was filled with silence. No one knew what to say, not even Monokuma. All of them were in shock.

"Well, um, I guess that gives us her motivation..." Masaru said, breaking the silence.

"It also gives us enough information to wrap things up." Satoshi said.

"Yeah..." Takara said. "There doesn't even feel like a need to sum up everything. Miyako's video will told us everything. Miyako Morino is the culprit, killing herself in an attempt to end this game at all costs."

"So now we jus' gotta vote, right?" Kazumi asked.

"Erm, yes, go ahead and cast your votes or whatever." Monokuma said, his mind not in the moment. For what was bound to be the final time, Takara made her selection while the others followed suit. In mere moments, Miyako's face was on the screen and cheers played. "Well, looks like you figured it out." Monokuma said. "Miyako Morino was her own killer."

"She sacrificed herself just to make sure we stop playing this game..." Ryouta said.

"And on top of that, she got the thief into the resort." Masaru said.

"So what happens now?" Kumiko asked. "Since Mimiya killed herself, there's nobody that can be punished!" She seemed to smile at that realization.

"It's true. Monokuma doesn't have someone he can punish, nor do I think he's about to put Miyako's already dead body through a punishment." Satoshi said.

"I knew I should've killed her the instant she walked in my suite!" Monokuma shouted, ignoring the other students. "But now she's gone and changed the story without my say-so! That talentless hack!"

"Oi, ya need a moment dere ta throw yer tantrum?" Kazumi asked.

"That's it! We're definitely entering the final act!" Monokuma said. "You want something done right, you do it yourself!" He turned to the six students. "Listen up, ya ungrateful bastards! Since the six of you are the only ones left alive, it's time I gave you my final test!"

"Final test?" Takara asked.

"It betta' not be like a pop quiz or some shit like dat. I suck at dose." Kazumi said.

"Not that kind of a test!" Monokuma shouted, waving his arms around. "This final test is veeery important, as it will determine whether you get to leave the resort!"

What? He was going to let them leave if they completed his test? It sounded too good to be true, but was it possible?

"What's the catch?" Ryouta asked, crossing his arms. "There's no way that passing this test will just let us go home like nothing ever happened."

"But it's true! All you'll have to do is pass my final test, and you can kiss this resort good-bye!" Monokuma said. "Bear's honor!" He made a motion that implied he was crossing his heart.

"So what is this final test exactly? What're we gonna have to do?" Masaru asked.

"It's simple, I'll be giving you a task that you all have to complete. And you'll have a time limit to do it." Monokuma explained. "Then we'll hold one final trial to determine whether you completed what I asked."

"But aren't the trial thingys only for when murder happens?" Kumiko asked.

"Don't you worry, I'm not gonna ask you to murder anyone. It's clear to me that none of you are capable of that anymore." Monokuma said.

"But what happens if we fail this test?" Satoshi asked.

"I haven't thought of that just yet." Monokuma said. "But you're definitely not leaving, that's for sure."

"Alright, what do we have to do?" Takara said.

"Hey, I wasn't prepared to start the test yet! I have to figure things out first!" Monokuma said. "You can't rush genius, after all! I'll need at least one night to figure things out, and I'm sure you could all use some rest after that doozy of a trial! But rest assured, I'll be calling you over once I'm all set." That sounded ominous. "So go on and get out of here! I can't work with you hovering over my shoulder!"

The six survivors exited through the doors and made their way back on the platform. For once though, the return trip wasn't spent in silence.

"He's actually going to let us go." Ryouta said. "I just can't believe that."

"If he's offerin' a way out, I'm willin' ta take it." Kazumi said. "It's what da others would want, ya know?"

The ones they lost all came to mind. Chiyo, Kaito, Hikaru, Ayame, Shigeru, Naomi, Shizuka, Minoru, Arata, and Miyako. All ten of them were dead because of Monokuma and his game. But that didn't mean their deaths were for nothing. They had to pass this test, no matter what.

"Non siete morti invano, perché avremo la libertà che desideravate. Riposate in pace." Everyone turned their heads to see that Kumiko was the one talking.

"Kumiko, did you just speak Italian?" Masaru asked. "I didn't know you knew the language."

"Well, I wouldn't say I know it just yet. I'm still learning." Kumiko said. "But there was something I got into that takes place in Italy and..."

"What'd you say?" Takara asked.

"I said 'Your deaths shall not be in vain, for we will obtain the freedom you strived for. Rest in peace'. It's meant to be a prayer to the friends we lost." Kumiko said.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate it." Satoshi said. "Even Shigeru."

"We have to be prepared for anything." Takara said. "This final test will probably be rough, so just be careful." Everyone nodded in understanding. They needed to expect anything. Monokuma wouldn't hold back on them. The platform came to a stop, and everyone went back to the hotel.

Entering her room, Takara let out a sigh. This was starting to get to her, it was becoming impossible to put on a brave face. But she only had one more trial to face. Then she and the others could leave and find out what happened back home. She set her bag down and fell onto her bed. She needed rest.

\--------------------------

A loud knock on the door startled her awake. Takara groaned and sat up from her bed, looking over at the clock. The numbers flashed 2:17 in green letters. Who the hell was waking her up at 2 a.m?! Whatever this was, it had better be important. She got out of bed and made her way over to the door. She opened it and stared at the person standing in the hall outside. "What the hell do you want?" she asked. "You're not even supposed to be up at this hour, you're gonna get us in trouble. So hurry up and make it quick."

"You think I care about getting caught?" Ayame asked. "The teachers are too busy trying to come up with their constantly failing plans, and all the hall monitors are stuck in their rooms."

"Get to the point." Takara said. "Why am I up at this hour?"

"We're gathering in Chiyo's dorm for a meeting, so wake up and get over there." Ayame said.

"Chiyo's room? What's going on in there?" Takara asked.

"Shit's about to go down." Ayame said. "And we need to find a way to not be part of it."

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly couldn't think of anything to do for an execution, so sorry about that. As for the Italian, I actually got a hold of someone from Italy to help with the translation because I ain't about to trust Google Translate for a damn second. So that's more or less an accurate translation of the phrase Kumiko said.


	47. Chapter 0 - Falling Through The Cracks Of Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had this finished up yesterday, but I wanted to wait a little while before putting it up.

Takara walked into Chiyo's dorm room, which was somehow able to cram fifteen students inside. Everyone was still in their pajamas; she didn't blame them, it was way too early to be getting dressed in the first place. Some people looked like they were about to doze off again. A few minutes passed by and the door opened, Shizuka and Kazumi walking inside. "Sorry, it took me a while to get Kazumi out of bed." The painter said.

"Ueda, I dunno why ya woke us all up at dis hour, but it betta' be for a good reason!" Kazumi said, rubbing her eyes to stay awake.

"I can assure you Ms. Katsuya, that my intentions are well." Chiyo answered, dark circles under her eyes. "I would not call for you unless it was neccesary."

"So what's the deal then?" Hikaru asked.

"As you all know, the past few weeks have not been the most...pleasant." Chiyo said.

"That's an understatement." Arata said.

"Throughout this whole ordeal, students have been going missing, or in other cases have turned up dead." Chiyo continued. "We have lost friends this way, and I can only hope that those we have lost can find peace. Anyway, one of the students who have disappeared is none other than one of our own classmates, Ms. Sasagawa."

"Just when we thought our own class was safe, Saemi goes missing." Kaito said. "As if things couldn't get any worse."

"I regret to inform you, Mr. Fujiwara, that things will get worse." Chiyo responded. "I can sense it."

"So you mean more people are going to die?" Shigeru asked. "If it weren't for the fact that it's become very common, I'd be worried."

"You should still be worried." Chiyo said. "For this is not like the other deaths that have arisen on the school grounds. In a few days time, this place will become a center of death."

What? She wasn't serious, right? How much more death could this place endure? "Do you have an estimate of sorts?" Minoru asked.

Chiyo shook her head. "I am afraid not. Too many are going to die for me to figure out the numbers." she said. "All I can say is that if we do not do something, we could end up in the pile of corpses."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't wanna end up dead." Ayame said. "We need to think of a plan, and fast!"

"But it's not like there's anywhere we can hide on the school grounds!" Ryouta said. "Especially if the whole school is going to hell!"

"Maybe this has something to do with that 'Super High School Level Despair' thing." Masaru suggested. "Maybe if we figure out who's behind it and turn them in, we can avoid this whole thing!"

"I've been trying to figure that out for weeks now, and I'm no closer than I was when I started." Takara said. "And from the sound of it, I don't have enough time to figure it out before the whole school goes to hell. It's not a bad idea, it's just impossible."

"So this whole thing is hopeless then." Naomi said, pushing her glasses up. "We just have to wait here and die."

"Wait, I have an idea." Everyone turned to the corner of the room, staring at a boy with red eyes and black hair. He was the only one not wearing pajamas, or if he was, they were hidden by the trench coat he wore. He could blend into the shadows if he wanted to.

"Go on then, Shuuya. If there's anyone who can get us out of this, it's gonna be you." Miyako said, looking over at him with a smile.

Shuuya smiled back for a brief moment, before looking back at everyone with a hardened look. "It's obvious that if we stay here, then we're all dead." he began. "So if we want to live, we have to leave. The school isn't safe anymore, and with Saemi gone I'd rather not risk anyone else."

"Leave the school?!" Kumiko said. "Shuu, that's crazy! The whole campus is on total lock down! We can't get out of here!"

"I thought you of all people would have more confidence in me, Kumiko." Shuuya said. "After all, I'm not the Super High School Level Assassin for nothing."

"But even your skills have limits, don't they?" Satoshi asked. "I mean, we're talking about getting seventeen people out, not one or two."

"Like I said, I'm not the Super High School Level Assassin for nothing." Shuuya responded. "If anyone can get us all out of here, it'll be me."

"So when's it gonna happen?" Kazumi asked. "Cause we ain't ready ta pack up an' leave right now."

"Simple, we'll do it tomorrow night." Shuuya said, walking from the corner to the center of the room. "Trying to leave during the day would be suspicious. If we're going to pull this off, it has to be at night. I think twenty four hours is enough time for us to prepare ourselves, don't you?"

"But what about the rest of the day?" Naomi asked. "We still have class to go to, and the hall monitors are definitely going to be more strict what with all that's happened."

"Just try to act casual." Shuuya said. "Spend your remaining time with whoever you want, say your goodbyes if you must. But don't tell anyone about the plan. ...Is something wrong, Shizuka?"

The painter was looking down at her feet. Upon being addressed, her head shot up. "It's just...do we really have to leave like this?" she asked. "It's just that...I..."

Shuuya sighed. "I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no." he said. "You're not staying here. You're my classmate, and I'm going to keep you safe. I've made up my mind, and you can't change it."

"But I don't care about any of that!" Shizuka said. "I don't care about what's going to happen if it means I have to leave! Chiyo said that people are going to die, and I have friends here! You're telling me I just have to abandon them and let them get killed?!" Her eyes began to water. "I've already lost one of them, I can't bear to lose the others!"

"Pull yerself together, Shizuka!" Kazumi said, grabbing hold of the painters arms. "I know why ya really wanna stay here. Yer worried 'bout 'im, ain't ya?"

"...Is it that obvious?" Shizuka asked.

"Yes, it is." Kazumi said. "Now listen here, whateva' happens here, I know dat guy won' jus' drop dead like dat. He's capable of takin' care of himself, fer one thing. An' fer another, he's got dat other guy ta help 'im if things get rough. He's smart, ya know dat, so don' go thinkin' he's gonna die so easily. I'm sure dat even if you ain't here, he'll be fine. Ya understand?"

Shizuka nodded her head, though the look on her face suggested that she felt otherwise. "Alright...I'll go..." she said. Kazumi smiled, and pulled her into a hug.

"So we've got that all worked out." Kaito said. "At least we don't have to worry about Kumiko pulling that same kind of stunt."

The comic artist looked down at the ground. "Don't remind me..." she said, her tone lacking her usual energy. Of course that would be a touchy subject for her. "I'll be happy once we're gone. Then I can forget all about that stupid jerk-face."

"So it's settled then. We leave tomorrow night while everyone's asleep." Shuuya said. "Remember to keep quiet about the whole thing. We'll meet up in my dorm in twenty four hours. Make sure you're ready."

"So we're all done? We can go back to sleep now?" Hikaru asked, letting out a yawn.

"Yes, you may return to your rooms." Chiyo said.

Everyone walked out of the medium's dorm room and returned to their own. Takara fell down onto her bed, trying to fall back asleep. They were escaping, leaving their friends behind to whatever tragedy may befall them. It wasn't a pretty thought, but what other way was there to put it? And who could say that they'd be better off out there than in here? She sighed, trying not to think about the long term. If they were gonna be safe from the dangers in the school, well, there was no use worrying about what else could happen. Right?

\-------------------------------

Takara woke up.

She sat up in her bed, turning on the lamp to try an understand her surroundings. She was still in the hotel. She breathed heavily, startled from the dream she had. What was all that? Why were the dead students alive? What was that place? Why were they talking about escaping? And why did she remember that dream perfectly?

"I'm going crazy, that's it." she said, placing her hand against her head. "This whole thing's getting to me, and I'm going crazy." She sighed. "I need some water." She got up out of the bed and made her way towards the bathroom. Turning on the sink, she grabbed a glass on the side of the sink and held it under the faucet. Once it was filled up, she set it aside and decided she should throw some water on her face. Cupping her hands under the faucet, she let her hands fill with water and splashed her face. She wasn't going to let herself go crazy.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Nothing about her seemed different, maybe it was just a weird dream brought on by the events of Miyako's trial. But it felt familiar in some way. Like it wasn't a dream to begin with...

"You remember, don't you?" A strange voice said.

"Huh?" Takara was confused. Was she going crazy after all? That wasn't her voice after all. She looked back in the mirror, convincing herself it was nothing. She needed to go back to sleep. She grabbed the glass of water and returned to her bed, hoping that going to sleep would solve her problems. Even though falling asleep wouldn't change the fact that she was still in the hotel.

Though if she had stayed in the bathroom, she would've noticed the figure standing there.

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I've been thinking about what to do about the next chapter, and I've decided how things are gonna work. In order to make sure I have everything smoothed out, I'm gonna be writing this chapter in chunks. So I'll be working on multiple parts at once, and uploading them steadily. Hopefully, this will allow me to reach my goal of finishing this fic by the end of the year. I also don't know how many parts are gonna be in this chapter, so it'll give me the chance to get that straightened out.


	48. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Deadly Life (Investigation) I

SLAM

Takara woke up not from the sound of Monokuma's announcement, but from the sound of a door shutting. She sat up in her bed, seeing Kumiko standing against the door connecting their rooms and breathing heavily. "Karins! You have to help me!" The comic artist shouted.

Takara jumped out of bed and walked over to the door. "Kumiko, what's going on?" she asked. She still felt tired after waking up from her strange dream last night.

"My room! There's something strange and freaky in my room!" Kumiko cried. "You've gotta help me!"

"What, you mean Monokuma?" Takara asked.

Kumiko shook her head. "Nuh-uh! I'd prefer Teddie to what's in there!" she said.

Takara sighed, she was too tired for this. "Kumiko, what could possibly be in there to freak you out so much?" she asked.

"A ghost! There's a ghost in my room!" Kumiko said.

Perhaps she wasn't the only one going crazy. "Look, maybe the stress from this killing game is starting to get to you." Takara said, trying to comfort the comic artist. "I'll go in there and prove to you that there's no ghosts, okay?"

"But there is a ghost! I saw and heard it super clearly!" Kumiko insisted.

"Kumiko, you need to calm down." Takara said, turning the doorknob. The door on Kumiko's side was still open, most likely ignored in her frantic hope of escaping. The journalist stepped inside. "If you just listen to me, I'll show you that there's no such thing...as...ghosts..."

She couldn't believe her eyes, she didn't even want to. What she saw in front of her went against everything she knew to be true. And yet it was just as Kumiko had said. Standing in the middle of the hotel room was Chiyo Ueda, or something that had an uncanny resemblance to the deceased medium. Except she was completely spotless. Her necklace was all in one piece, there were no tears in her dress, and there was no indent left from the noose. "Chiyo" looked over at the two girls standing by the doorway and smiled. "Good morning Ms. Tsukuda." she said, mimicking her voice perfectly. "How are you doing on this pleasant morning?"

Takara stumbled back and nearly tripped. "What the fuck?" she asked. "This can't be possible!"

"You see! I told you!" Kumiko said.

Something seemed off about the Chiyo standing in the room. It was like she was there, but not. "Perhaps you can help me with something." she said. "I am not sure why, but it seems that Kumiko is frightened of me. Would you be so kind as to tell her that she has nothing to fear?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Takara asked. "You...you're supposed to be dead! We held a trial for you! I was next to your corpse! How the hell are you here?!"

"I do not understand what you are talking about." Chiyo said. "I am standing right here, am I not? Surely that is proof enough. But I can prove it to you that I am not a corpse." She began to walk closer to the girls.

"No thanks!" Takara said. She ran back into her room and headed for the exit, Kumiko following behind her. She quickly grabbed her room key before heading out into the hallway and shutting the door. "What the hell was that?!" she asked.

"I dunno! I just woke up and saw Chi-Chi standing there like nothing happened!" Kumiko said.

"Maybe we should wake up the others, and try to figure things out from there." Takara said, trying to regain her composure. If she wasn't awake before, she certainly was now. Kumiko nodded her head in agreement. Just as they were about to go towards the first door, they heard the slamming of a door near the end of the hall. Turning their heads, they saw Ryouta on his knees and shaking. They walked over to him, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ryose, are you okay?" Kumiko asked.

"Does it look like I'm okay?!" Ryouta shouted.

"Dude, calm down." Takara said. "What happened?"

"I saw him... That stupid track runner! He was standing there in my room acting all cheery!" Ryouta said.

Takara and Kumiko froze. It couldn't be... "He didn't have a scratch or drop of blood on him, right?" The journalist asked.

"...How did you know that?" Ryouta asked.

Before either could answer, a shout came from behind them. "STAY DA FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Everyone looked and saw Kazumi standing in the hall and shouting into her room. "I dunno wat'cha want wit' me, but I ain't havin' it!" She kicked the door close, somehow managing not to break it.

Masaru and Satoshi were soon scrambling out of their rooms as well, frightened and sweaty. "You're not going to believe what I say, but you have to listen!" Masaru said.

"One of our dead classmates just showed up in your room, right?" Takara asked. "And they were spotless and free of any damage sustained when they died."

Kazumi, Masaru, and Satoshi stood there in silence. "Kara-chan, how did you know that?" Satoshi asked.

"Ya mean it happened ta ya too?!" Kazumi asked.

"Aside from me, it seems like everyone woke up to ghosts in their rooms." Takara said. "Who was it?"

"Kitagawa an' Naomi." Kazumi said. "Dey were actin' friendly an' shit, dey didn't even act like da assholes dey usually are!"

"I saw Minoru." Masaru answered. "It seemed like he didn't even know he died."

"Miyako." Satoshi stated. "She was smiling at me and saying good morning."

There was a pattern. Everyone who showed up in their rooms were the victims, the ones they had to discover who murdered them. But why? Why did they come back? And where were the other four, the culprits? This didn't feel right.

The doors to their rooms all opened, startling the group. All the victims came out of the respective rooms, spotless and looking the way they did before they died. Takara and the others huddled together, fearing what their classmates would do.

"Jeez, dude. You didn't have to run away." Hikaru said. "I ain't gonna hurt you."

"What's made you all so startled?" Shigeru asked, a hint of concern in his voice which felt creepy and unnatural.

"You're acting as if you've all seen a ghost." Naomi said, pushing her glasses up.

"No shit we are!" Kazumi shouted. "All of ya are fuckin' dead as dicks!"

"What? We're dead?" Minoru asked with a slight chuckle. "Come on, Kazumi. Quit joking around."

"But she's not! You're all supposed to be dead!" Takara shouted. "You were all murdered! Chiyo was strangled by Kaito! Hikaru had his throat slit by Ayame! Shigeru and Naomi had their heads bashed in by Shizuka! Minoru was poisoned by Arata! And Miyako committed suicide! You're all dead, we saw it with out own eyes!"

"I think your eyes must be broken then." Kaito said, stepping out of the journalist's room. "I mean really, why would I wanna kill Chiyo?"

"I thought you said there was no one in your room!" Masaru whispered.

"There wasn't..." Takara whispered back.

"You're telling me that I killed Hikaru?" Ayame came out of the same room, her arms crossed. "Earth to Takara, I think you're losing it!"

"I thought you'd know by now that I couldn't kill anyone if I tried." Shizuka came next. "Your accusation hurts me, I thought we were friends."

"If they were dead, why would they be standing here?" Arata. "Come now, Tsukuda. These claims are ridiculous."

"Come on, why would I kill myself?" Miyako asked.

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YA!" Kazumi shouted and walked away from the huddled group. "How DARE ya impersonate our classmates! Dere ain't no way yer ghosts, and dere ain't no way yer real!"

"But Kazumi, we're right here alive and well!" Shizuka said with a smile. "Surely you can trust me, can't you? We're best friends after all!"

"Don'chu speak ta me like dat, ya fake!" Kazumi shouted, her hand balled up into a fist and shaking. "Shizuka is dead! I saw it with my own fuckin' eyes! She got shot in da head an' heart! Ya don' survive from dat! An' yer mockin' her by pretendin' ta be her!"

"Shot in the head and heart? Don't be silly, Kazumi." Shizuka said. "If I were shot, wouldn't I have the wounds to match?" As if on cue, two bullet wounds appeared on her body in the exact places. The one on her head was obscured by her bangs, but the trail of blood that streamed down was real.

"...Da fuck is goin' on here?!" Kazumi shouted.

"Yeah guys, quit playing around!" Ayame said. "What's next, you're gonna say I was pelted to death by footballs or something?" Bruises began to cover her body, and some teeth went missing from her grin.

"Or perhaps that I was impaled?" Arata asked. The wound from the needle appeared.

"Besides, wouldn't all these wounds appear on the people we supposedly killed?" Kaito asked. The group turned to look at all the victims. The wounds began to show up on all of them, and the state their bodies were in when they died became their appearance. Hikaru's neck had a long cut, and his clothes were stained with blood. Naomi and Shigeru's heads were covered in blood, their clothes ripped and disheveled. Chiyo's dress had a blood stain in her chest and the mark from the jacket noose was on her neck.

"I'm dreaming right?" Kumiko asked. "This is all just a bad dream I'm having caused by Nightmarens isn't it?!"

"What do you want from us?!" Ryouta shouted.

"Don't keep doing this to yourselves." Shizuka said. "You can't win this twisted game. Monokuma will win no matter what. You should just stay here with us, that way you'll all be safe."

"But we've been trying to leave this whole time, and we've gotten so far!" Masaru said. "We can't just give up now, not after all you've sacrificed for us!"

"Do you really think the truth is worth it though?" Ayame asked. "That going back to the real world outside of this resort will do you any good?"

"This place has everything we could ever want." Chiyo said. "So why not stay here and spend your lives in peace? What reason could you think of to leave here?"

"Just don't accept Monokuma's final test. He'll let you stay here for as long as you want." Minoru said. "That way you can stay here with us forever."

"Doesn't that sound better then returning to a broken world with no hope?" Naomi asked.

"This vacation can be eternal, and you don't have to worry about the pain and stress you had before all this." Miyako said.

"So don't take the final test. Stay here with us." Shigeru said. "We can all be friends if you do."

"STOP IT!" Takara shouted. "You're all lying! It's just too good to be true! You can't come back, you're dead! And staying here isn't living, it's like being in hell! You're not our classmates, they would never tell us to stay here after all we've been through! They'd tell us to fight! I don't care what's out in the real world, I'd rather deal with that than stay here for one more day!"

"Yer all full of shit!" Kazumi said, standing by Takara. "I ain't listenin' ta one more word of yer crap!"

"You mean you'd rather trust her over your best friend?" Shizuka asked.

"My best friend is dead, no matter how much I wish she wasn'!" Kazumi shouted, walking over to the false painter. "An' I ain't lettin' ya soil her good name any fuckin' longer!" She punched Shizuka in the face, expecting her to fly back to the end of the hall. But she had no idea of what would really happen.

Shizuka and all the others became covered in static, freezing in place. Some of them seemed to turn transparent for a moment. Then they all shattered, knocking Kazumi back into the survivors. The sound of screams echoed through their ears, combining into a horrific symphony. It felt like it would never end.

**"You're all going to die!"**

Suddenly, the world went black and the screaming stopped.

...

Takara woke up in the hallway, the other students sprawled out on the floor with her. Everyone began to sit up, rubbing their heads and groaning. "Someone tell me that was just a dream..." Satoshi said.

"Unless we all had the same dream, I doubt it." Ryouta said.

"What was that?" Kumiko asked.

"I don't know, but it certainly raises way too many questions." Takara said.

The sound of the monitors in their rooms grabbed their attention. They all stood up and reluctantly went back into their rooms. Monokuma's smug face was on the screen. "Good morning everyone! I hoped you enjoyed the little wake-up call I prepared for you! I thought the announcement system was too boring for such an important day! Anyhow, it's time to begin the final test! Please report to the front desk for further instruction. And let the fun begin. Ahahahahahaha!" The monitors shut off.

"A wake-up call?!" Kazumi shouted from her room. "Dat was a fuckin' wake-up call?! How messed up is dis fuckin' bear?!"

Takara sighed. This was it. It was now or never. This was their only chance to leave the resort for good. She walked out into the hall, meeting the others there. They all walked to the lobby in silence. They gathered at the front desk, only waiting a moment before the bear sprung out and landed on the desk. "Hey, you guys don't look so good." he said. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"What the hell was that 'wake-up call' of yours?!" Ryouta shouted, saying what was on everyone's mind.

"Oh, that? It was just my way of having a bit of fun with you guys!" Monokuma answered. "Plus I'm tired of using the usual morning announcement, it's just too stale!"

"How did you do that though? There's no way to bring back the dead." Masaru said.

"That's for me to know, and you to not bother with!" Monokuma said. "Anyway, your fluffy headmaster spent all night finalizing the details for the Final Test! And so, I've gathered you here to explain what you have to do. To pass my test and leave this resort, the six of you have to solve all the mysteries surrounding this place. Where you are, how you got here, who brought you here, and so on and so forth! Because Iike to play fair, I am giving you an extended period of investigation and have opened up all areas of the resort for you to examine! But just because you have more time than usual doesn't mean you have the chance to goof off, so spend it wisely."

"Um, are we gonna have time to change into our clothes and eat?" Satoshi asked, raising his hand.

"I said I'm a fair bear, didn't I?" Monokuma said. "We can't have you investigating in your pajamas after all! And you're gonna need the energy to explore too! So because I'm so generous, you got half an hour to eat and get dressed before the investigation begins! I've already prepared a fresh home-cooked meal too, I need you kids to work at full capacity you know!"

"What'll happen once da investigation is over?" Kazumi asked.

"I'll call you over to the class trial like I always do!" Monokuma answered.

"What mysteries do we need to solve exactly?" Takara asked.

"Don't you worry, I'll be uploading those to your e-Handbooks while you're getting ready!" Monokuma said.

"And what happens if we fail and get a game over?" Kumiko asked.

"Now now, I want to keep some surprises hidden!" Monokuma said. "Now then, are there any other questions?" No one spoke up or raised their hand. "Good! Now go get ready and prepare yourselves! I'll let you know when your time is up and the investigation can start. Until then!" He bounced behind the desk.

"We should go eat first, then get dressed." Takara said. "Once the half hour is up, we'll meet back here in the lobby. Does that sound like a plan?" Everyone nodded in agreement. They all headed to the restaurant, finding six plates of toast, eggs, and bacon waiting for them. The food was soon devoured, and they all returned to their rooms. They changed into fresh sets of clothes and did whatever else they could fit in to the span of time. Takara was putting her files and items into her bag when she heard the monitor turn on.

"To be, or not to be. That is the question." Monokuma said. "Though if you ask me, it's a pretty lousy question. The real question is who will triumph in this final test? Will you pass with flying colors? There's only one way to find out! The investigation time starts now!"

Takara glanced at her clock. 9 a.m precisely. Everything they worked so hard for was about to pay off. She exited the room and waited in the lobby as her classmates joined her. Before she had the chance to speak, someone else spoke up. "Before we start running around all over the place in a haze, there's something I gotta show you guys." Kumiko said.

"Hm? What kinda thing?" Kazumi asked.

"There's someone I managed to talk to, and I think that person can be a super omega help." Kumiko answered. "We have to go to the lounge, right now."

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna have the actual investigation start here, but things were getting too long so I just ended things there.


	49. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Deadly Life (Investigation) II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! Enjoy this new part!

Everyone gathered into the lounge, hovering over Kumiko as she accessed a computer. "Um, how did you get a hold of someone through the computers?" Masaru asked. "We don't have any internet."

"I don't really know either!" Kumiko answered, still staring at the screen and messing with the computer. "It just sorta happened after I punched Ryose."

"And who is this person anyway?" Ryouta asked, trying to repress the memory of being punched.

"She's pretty secretive, so I dunno." Kumiko said.

"Then how'd ya know they're a girl?" Kazumi asked.

"Call it a hunch!" Kumiko said. As the comic artist continued to mess with the computer, Takara looked at her e-Handbook. Just as he said he would, Monokuma had uploaded all the mysteries they needed to solve and put them in their rules.

**12\. In order to leave Paradise Resort, and to end your vacation, here are the mysteries you will have to solve: Where have you been brought to? Why are you here? Why did you willingly choose to lose your memories? Who is controlling Monokuma? What do they want with you? Who are the seventeenth and eighteenth students?**

Those sounded pretty vague, but she and the others were sure to figure it out. The files they had were sure to help them in their search, and they could go anywhere in the resort. Hopefully this endeavor of Kumiko's would work. She looked back up at the screen, seeing it turned black. It wasn't broken was it? Green words appeared on the screen.

**Hello.**

"Alright! We're in!" Kumiko said, typing a response.

_Hey there!_

**This is Kumiko, right?**

_Yep! But I'm not alone, I brought my friends with me. We need your help!_

**What do you need me to do?**

_We need some information!_

**I'll do my best to help, I think.**

"Okee dokie, what should I ask first?" Kumiko said, looking at the other five students. "Just gimme your questions and I'll type 'em in for ya!"

"Start by asking if she knows who we are." Takara said.

"Not what I would've thought of, but okay!" Kumiko said. She typed in the question, waiting for the person on the other side to reply.

**Well, I don't exactly know you. But I know about you.**

**You are the subjects. Or maybe calling you patients would work better. You were once students of Hope's Peak Academy, the 79th Class if I'm right.**

"Subjects? Patients? What's that supposed to mean?!" Ryouta asked, prompting Kumiko to relay the question.

**You are all part of the Paradise Rehabilitation Project. I don't have all the information, but the seventeen of you were brought in here for therapy.**

"Dere weren' seventeen of us!" Kazumi said. "Dere were only sixteen!"

**No, my records say there were seventeen subjects. And that's exactly how many there were when this started. Though this killing game has been lowering the numbers.**

"...Ask her how many there are now." Takara said. Something didn't seem right.

**From what I can gather, there are currently eight subjects in the resort.**

"Eight?! That doesn't add up!" Ryouta said.

"No, it does." Takara said. "Seventeen of us arrived in the resort, plus the thief Miyako allowed to get in would add up to a total of eighteen. Assuming that no one faked their deaths, that would mean the six of us are still alive, plus the thief and Monokuma's controller."

"So the seventeenth person is the one behind Monokuma!" Satoshi said.

"But then who is it?" Kumiko asked.

"If the people who entered were all members of the 79th Class, then it can only be one of the two missing students." Masaru guessed.

"The only question is which one." Takara said.

"What were their names again?" Kazumi asked.

"Saemi Sasagawa and Shuuya Kuronaga." Ryouta replied.

"We'll have to look around to figure out who it is." Takara said. "Anyway, let's go back to this person."

"Ask how dey know all dis." Kazumi said.

**The information is stored in the databases, which I have access to. I've been here in the system for a long time watching in wait, I don't think anyone knows I'm here.**

"Here in the resort?" Satoshi asked.

**No, here in the system. My leftover data must have been transferred with everything else once the program was moved to another system, I think. I can't affect what's happening to you though, so sorry about that.**

"What program is she talking about?" Takara asked.

**The New World Program. Or I guess it would be the New World Program 2.0 in this case.**

"What's the New World Program?" Masaru asked.

**I'm afraid I can't say much, it's too risky. I can tell you that it was created for therapeutic purposes and has the power to replace memories. The problems that persisted in the prototype program were worked through after the first test, though some things had to be sacrificed.**

"Such as?" Takara asked.

**The memory replacement process isn't as perfect as it used to be. Instead of replacing certain memories, those memories are repressed so the new ones can be put in there. Certain memories can be brought back with the right stimuli, or they'll linger in the back of your mind subconsciously. Memories of certain people for instance, someone like a lover or close friend, are the best examples.**

"That seems oddly specific." Ryouta said.

"So what does this program have to do with us?" Satoshi asked.

**The New World Program is-**

The computer shut off. "Hey, what happened?!" Kumiko said.

"Oh come on, I have to make sure this poses _some_ challenge!" The students turned around, seeing Monokuma standing there. "It's no fun when the answers are just thrown right in front of you! What kind of mystery is that? So I unplugged that computer!"

"I should probably be surprised, yet I'm not." Ryouta said.

"So figure things out on your own! Otherwise, you're wasting your investigation time!" Monokuma said. "Have fun!" The bear jumped behind the couch.

"Well, guess we can't get anything else out of her." Satoshi said. "What now?"

"We should probably split up." Takara said. "We have a lot of ground to cover and limited time to do it."

"We should search everywhere we can." Masaru said. "There might be hints we've overlooked, and the places that opened up should have a ton of information, right?"

"It ain't a bad idea." Kazumi said.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's solve those mysteries and get outta here!" Kumiko shouted, raising her fist into the air. Yeah, they could do this. They would make it out of here no matter what. The group left the lounge and spread out into different directions. Takara thought hard about where to explore first. Looking at all those files her and the others had received had helped her figure out bits and pieces of what she needed to know, so it made things easier for her. She already knew who the seventeenth and eighteenth students were after all. But why was that important to know?

She remembered her dream from last night. Shuuya was in it. And he managed to say something that seemed strange, but if her suspicions were correct...

Takara went up the stairs and headed for Miyako's room. The information she was looking for was there. Opening the door, she looked around the room in the hope that what she needed was still there. Glancing at the desk, she saw it. The reminder book. She picked it up and flipped through the pages, finding that which confirmed her theory. The set of pages with the phrase "I AM THE ASSASSIN" written in them.

That's right, all information about Shuuya's talent was censored. In her dream he had stated he was the Super High School Level Assassin. Which meant this was written by Shuuya. But why had all other written instances of his talent been blocked out? Why was it hidden when Saemi's talent was there clear as day? Whatever the reason, it had to hold some kind of importance. She placed the reminder book down and left the room.

Returning downstairs, Takara went down the first floor hallway. She reached the Manager's Office. Information would have to be in here. She opened the door, slightly surprised that it was unlocked. It wasn't anything special, a desk and chair sat in the middle, while filing cabinets were lined against the walls. A pretty ordinary office when you looked at it, but perhaps it was hiding something...

She went towards the filing cabinets. Not caring which one she opened, she chose one at random and pulled out a file. She placed it on the desk and opened it, finding what appeared to be a set of printed emails. She read it to herself.

_Headmaster Kirigiri,_

_It appears the school is no longer safe, even after we've made the effort to lock the students inside. An entire class of students have vanished overnight without a trace. There is no sign of anyone from the 79th Class. All seventeen remaining students are gone. With this on top of the recent deaths, despair is certain to spread throughout the campus once again. Something must be done before things get out of control. I await your decision._

_**************_

This wasn't a surprise to her. She already knew about their escape from Hope's Peak Academy. Takara placed the email aside and read over the next one, expecting to read the real headmaster's response. But something completely different was there instead.

_Makoto Naegi,_

_It appears there were more students left from Hope's Peak Academy then we originally thought. It turns out they've been hiding from Super High School Level Despair this entire time. However, all of them are in a state of shock. Whatever they have experienced during this time has caused severe mental problems such as depression and anxiety. While the higher ups are still not pleased with your insubordination from before, they cannot argue with the results your actions led to. Therefore, we believe that the recovery of these students should be placed into your division. But this time, don't fight against the higher ups. The Future Foundation has a reputation to uphold after all. As far as we're aware, none of these students are associated with the last group. But be weary._

Makoto Naegi... Something about that name rang a few bells, but Takara couldn't figure out why. Wasn't he one of the survivors of that School Life of Mutual Killing? Why was he involved with the Future Foundation? She found one last email that looked important.

_Makoto Naegi,_

_After much consideration, your request for treatment has been granted. Modifications have been made after reviewing the data from the first attempt. However, if you wish for the "Paradise Rehabilitation Project" to move further, you must gain consent from all the subjects and send it to us. You must also inform us of any potential precautions you wish to take before moving forward. We will also be sending someone to help work with you on this project. You may request more help if necessary. We wish you luck._

So it was the Future Foundation who did all this. But were they really in that bad of a state? And just what was this "Paradise Rehabilitation Project" that kept coming up? Finding nothing else in the folder, Takara opened another cabinet and took out a folder. This one was filled with a ton of papers. She took out the first one and nearly fell backwards in shock. In her hands was a student profile from Hope's Peak Academy.

Other sheets were stapled to it. She flipped it over and saw what look like notes of sorts. Notes about her. The other stapled sheets were filled with them. There was information about her family, her dreams, her old friends, everything someone would need to know. The last page was the worst though.

The last page had two lists. The first one was "Most likely to kill", and listed some of the other students along with reasons why she'd want them dead. The second one was "Most likely to be killed by", and mentioned why the listed students would want her dead. Finally, there was a description at the bottom of what looked like her execution. She didn't even want to read that one.

She pulled out other stacks of paper, finding profiles of the other fifteen students. Each one had the same information on it. Their pasts, families, friends, dreams, and the lists. Some students had high lists of students they'd kill (it wasn't a surprise that Shigeru had the longest list), while others had some that only had one or two people on there. The lists for who would try to kill them had just as varied results. And of course, there was an execution for all of them. Some even had more than one possible execution (Arata's other execution made her realize how easy Monokuma went on him). Saemi and Shuuya weren't even in the file.

Takara placed everything back in the folder and put it in her bag. It was bound to be useful for later. If she had the time, she'd go through all the files in the cabinet, but Monokuma's investigation wouldn't last long enough for her to do so. One more file would to it. Picking a random cabinet once again, she pulled one out and opened it up. Inside was information about the resort. Great, she picked out a useless folder. Oh well, it was worth a look since she picked it out. Maybe it would help with the "where have you been brought to" question.

The first thing she saw was a map of the resort. She was inclined to ignore it, but then she saw something on it. Some odd comments written on it.

_"This area should be a garden. Somewhere that Ryouta guy would like!"_

_"I remember that Kumiko liked video games. Perhaps we should add an arcade?"_

_"I bet a museum would fit for both Shizuka and Satoshi! For serious!"_

_"They'll need a place to eat, you know. Put a restaurant somewhere in the hotel so they don't starve."_

This was way too surreal. Why were the comments talking about their needs? Just what was all this? She stuffed the map away and put it back into the folder. She didn't want to look at it anymore. Hoping to distract herself, she searched through the desk drawers. In the third one sat a disk labeled "Consent testimonials". Takara stuffed it in her bag and made her way upstairs. The last time they found a DVD it turned out to be important, maybe this one would be as well.

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN?**


	50. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Deadly Life (Investigation) III

Takara returned to her room and turned on the TV. It was strange, until now she hadn't seen any use for it. She never would've guessed it would come in handy during an investigation. She located the DVD slot and placed the disc inside. The disc started up as she took a seat on the bed.

An image of her came up on-screen. Except something was different. The look in her eyes seemed bleak and broken. She was sitting at a chair in a strange room she didn't recognize. She heard the sound of footsteps come closer as someone sat down.

"Hello Takara," Someone off-screen spoke. From the sound of it, the speaker was a young man not much older than her. Something about his voice gave her a sense of deja-vu. "You know who I am, right?"

She looked up at whoever was speaking, or at least Takara assumed she did. "Of course I do." she responded. Her voice even sounded different. It came off as hollow and empty. Whatever happened to her and the others must've done a bigger number on them than she thought.

"That's good. I don't have to introduce myself." The young man said with a nervous laugh. "Oh, don't mind the camera. I have to record this for my superiors." So this was Makoto Naegi then?

"It doesn't matter to me." she replied.

"Oh, okay." Makoto said. "In that case, I'll just get down to business. We at the Future Foundation want to help you and your classmates after everything you've been through. And while it's a long shot, we think we've found a solution." A file was passed from the other end of the table, which she proceeded to pick up and read. "I call it the Paradise Rehabilitation Project. If all goes well, it should undo the trauma you've all suffered."

"There's some kind of catch, isn't there?" she asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's a catch, but there is a condition." Makoto answered. "If you choose to accept this treatment, then we'll have to suppress all the memories you've made since your first day at Hope's Peak Academy. You won't remember anything from the past two years, including who your classmates are. Now of course, we're only going to do this with your consent. If you don't want to take the treatment, then we'll find another way to help you."

She looked back up at Makoto. "I'll do it." she said. "I'd rather lose my memories than know what I do."

"Alright, if you say so." Makoto replied. "I need to speak with everyone else of course, so you can return to your room for now." She silently nodded and stood up, walking away towards what Takara assumed was the exit. "Tell Hina she can bring the next one in." he said to someone.

Before long, another person was brought in and sat down at the chair. This time it was Masaru. Dark circles were under his eyes, and it looked like he was shaking just slightly. His hair was a mess. From the looks of it, he had been crying moments before this was recorded.

"Hi Masaru, I don't think we really got to know each other before all this happened. I'm Makoto Naegi." Just as she thought, it was Makoto.

"...Hello." Masaru said. "What's this all about?"

"Well, me and the other members of my division believe we've found a way to help you and the others with your trauma." Makoto said, handing the file towards him. Masaru didn't pick it up. "It's called the Paradise Rehabilitation Project. We're not sure if it'll work, but if all goes well then you and your friends will be back to normal. However, we will have to erase your memories from when you arrived at Hope's Peak to now. We won't force you to go through this, if you don't want to take the treatment then we'll find some other way to help you."

"...I'll do it." Masaru said.

"Are you sure? You can't back out of this once you've made your decision." Makoto said.

"I'm sure." Masaru said.

"Alright. You can head back to your room now, we'll come and get you when we're ready." Makoto said.

Masaru got up from the chair and left as another person was called in. It continued to follow that cycle. A student came up, looking shaken up or disturbed in some manner, as they were briefed on this Paradise Rehabilitation Program. They'd be warned about losing their memories, but they'd accept. Takara didn't even make it halfway in before stopping the disc and taking it out. She had an idea of what the rest of it would be like.

She left the hotel room and thought about where to look next. She remembered that the office wasn't the only area that had opened up to them. She went down the stairs and walked towards the elevator. She pushed the button and waited. A ding sounded out and the doors opened. Once inside she pressed the 6 button and waited for the doors to close. The elevator slowly began to rise.

It came to a stop and opened up. Takara walked out and found herself in a hallway. It was strange how the rooms up here were the only ones inaccessible from the others. There were no stairs leading to this floor. This must've been where all the luxury suites were. Surely there had to be something up here if Monokuma didn't want them exploring it. She turned to the left and walked for a while, coming across a door with a picture of Monokuma's face instead of a room number. Gee, what could be behind this door?

She entered the room, finding herself in a luxury suite room. The hot tub Monokuma was always seen in during his announcements was on her right. Compared to their rooms, there was plenty of space to walk around. The TV was mounted on the wall, and looked to be twice the size of the ones in the standard rooms. In the back of the room was some kind of mini-bar. There was no doubt, these rooms were ten times better than the ones on the lower floors. No wonder Monokuma was staying in here.

"Karins, you're here too!" Takara turned around and saw Kumiko come out of what she guessed was the bathroom. "Did the power of the Monado lead you here?"

"The what? No, I came here searching for any clues." Takara said.

"Well I think I found some!" Kumiko said. She hopped over to one of the nightstands and opened a drawer, pulling out a file and notebook. "I haven't looked inside 'em yet, but I got a feeling it's super duper omega important!"

"Well put them out on that table and we'll look at them." Takara said. Kumiko rushed over and placed them down. Takara walked over and opened the file first. Inside was a set of student profiles, but these were for people she'd never even heard of before, or at least she hadn't met them.

"Huh? More stuff on students?" Kumiko asked, picking up a small stack of them and browsing through. "What'd Teddie need these for?"

"No idea." Takara said, picking up the first one she saw. The profile was for one Hajime Hinata. "Especially since one of these guys is a student from the Reserve Course."

"Maybe we knew 'em?" Kumiko asked, eyes still glued to the profiles she had.

"It's possible." Takara said, looking through another one. "I think I saw a few of these people in those photos."

"These guys look kinda weird, if you ask me!" Kumiko said, placing a profile down on the table. "What would Teddie need info on them for in the..." She stopped talking and stared down at the sheet of paper in front of her.

Takara looked up upon noticing the comic artists sudden silence "What's wrong?" she asked. She walked over to her side, looking at the profile she was starring at. "Gundam Tanaka? What's his deal, and why are you starring at his profile?"

"Huh?" Kumiko snapped to attention. "Oh, um, it's nothing. I just remembered that I knew somebody called Gundam a looooooong time ago, but I haven't seen him in forever!"

"Is this the same Gundam?" Takara asked, pointing at his picture.

"I...dunno." Kumiko said. "I don't remember his full name, plus it's been a long time since I've seen him! This might not even be him for all I know!"

"If you don't think this is him, then why are your eyes watering up?" Takara asked.

Kumiko pressed a hand to her face, finding tears forming just as Takara said. "Huh? Why am I crying?" she asked.

"This guy might not be the same Gundam you knew, but maybe you had some kind of relationship with him during our school year?" Takara guessed.

"If I did, then I don't remember it at all!" Kumiko said. "So why am I crying?"

"Maybe it's like what happened with Shizuka? There was someone she was close to at the school who she forgot, but it felt like they were still in her heart or something like that." Takara guessed. "It could be the same kind of thing."

"I dunno." Kumiko said, wiping away the tears. "But we can figure that out once we've left this place! We got investigating ta do!"

"I'll just take that then." Takara said, grabbing the profile and setting it aside. she moved the last profile and found more sheets of paper. "What's this?" she asked.

"It could be exactly what we need!" Kumiko said.

Takara picked it up and read it out loud. "The experiment was a success, for the most part that is. Nine subjects died in the Jabberwock Island simulation, but the five who survived have shown signs of recovery. They no longer seem to be corrupted by despair as they once were. While the other nine are in a coma, we have left the five of them there to keep an eye on their condition. The possibility is slim, but there's a chance that the ones who died in the New World Program can be revived and restored to their original state before they became the remnants of despair.

"It should also be noted that Izuru Kamukura has reverted back to Hajime Hinata. No sign of Izuru seems to exist. Of course, those who modified their bodies were not changed back to their original state. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu will forever be blind in one eye no matter what manner we try to use to fix it. Some of the conditions can be reverted with proper care, and we have left some personnel on Jabberwock with them to see to their recovery.

"We have also taken a copy of the New World Program and it's data from this run in the hopes that we may improve upon it and fix it in case it needs to be used again. We will make absolutely sure that if it is used again, the issues that were present in the initial run will not occur again. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that there is no way these five, or any of the others should they revive, will return to being remnants of despair. Super High School Level Despair's influence has left them."

"So these guys were part of that Super High School Level Despair thing?" Kumiko asked. "And now they're not?"

"I guess so." Takara said. "The New World Program, didn't that person you were talking to mention that?"

"Yep yep yep! She suuuuuuuuuure did!" Kumiko said.

Pieces were clicking together in Takara's head. If all of this was true then that meant... No. It couldn't be! But nothing else made sense! "Kumiko, is there any other papers in that file?" she asked.

"Just this one!" Kumiko said, holding a sheet of paper.

"Could you read it for me please?" Takara asked.

"You got it, Karins!" Kumiko said with a salute. She cleared her throat and began to read. "It turns out one of them slipped through our grasp. There is still a remnant of despair who was in hiding. They say that they've realized what wrong they've done and that their eyes are opened, but we must be cautious. While their claim appears to be true, we can't be certain. We must make sure that they're with the others in the Paradise Rehabilitation Project. That way, if they haven't been healed, we can be sure they will be."

"So there is a remnant of despair." Takara said. "They must be the one in control of Monokuma!"

"But they should've lost their memory like the rest of us right?" Kumiko asked as she cocked her head.

"That confuses me too." Takara said. "They must've done something before entering the resort to prevent their memory loss."

"Weiiiiiiiird." Kumiko said.

"Well, I think this has given me all the info it can." Takara said, stuffing the papers back into the file. "Let's take a look at this notebook." She opened it up to a random page, finding writing inside. It looked like Monokuma's handwriting. She began to read it out loud.

"I've just revealed the first motive, man the looks on their faces was priceless! Ryouta even ran off to his room like the wimp he is! They were all talking about how they need to be careful and shit, but I know these guys better than they know themselves. And someone out there's gonna kill because of their work. I wonder which one it'll be? My money's on Kaito or Kazumi, both of them seem to depend on their work. Then again, Takara might be the one. She's so obsessed with 'spreading the truth' or some crap like that so she could easily do it! Oh well, it doesn't matter who does it. All I need is for someone to kill and for the rest of them to get it wrong! And once that happens my plan will be complete. They all think I'm gonna execute them if they get it wrong, but I have something better in store for them. Not that they can know any of that though. Those Future Foundation idiots think that Super High School Level Despair is dead, but they don't know how wrong they are!"

"Wait, we weren't gonna be executed if we were wrong?!" Kumiko said. "But then what did Teddie want with us?!"

"My guess is that whatever he did have planned wouldn't have been much better." Takara said, shutting the notebook. "We should go. There's nothing else here that's useful."

"Alrightie then..." Kumiko said, glancing at the file again. The two girls made their way out of the suite. "So now what?" Kumiko asked.

"Well there has to be more on this floor then just this room." Takara said. "So we should try looking around and see if we find anything."

"Like what though? It's not like every single fancy shmancy room is gonna have something in there!" Kumiko said.

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall snapped the girls to attention. Running towards them was Masaru. "Kumiko! Takara! I think I found something!" he said through his breaths.

"You found something?" Takara asked. "What is it?"

"There's a room up here... And someone's been using it!"

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	51. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Deadly Life (Investigation) IV

Masaru and the two girls rushed down the hall, stopping in front of what seemed to be an ordinary hotel room. "Alright, this is the one." Masaru said.

"Are you sure this room is being used?" Takara asked. "Who would even be using it?"

"Duuuuuh, that sneaky little thief!" Kumiko said. "Who else could it be?"

"But why would they have their room up here where Monokuma could easily find them?" Takara asked.

"There aren't any cameras up here." Masaru said. "I checked the other rooms and none of them had a camera in them."

"Which means Monokuma didn't plan on ever letting us enter this floor..." Takara said. "So the thief figured this would be the safest place to hide!"

"Anyway, can we go in now?" Masaru asked.

"Right, sorry, after you." Takara said. Masaru opened the door, the girls following in after him. The lights were turned on, revealing the state of the room. The entire wall was covered in papers, written in a language Takara didn't know. Some were even scattered around the floor. The bedsheets were a complete mess, meaning that someone had recently been sleeping in it. There was no doubt, this room was definitely being used.

"Maaaaaan, I can't understand these strange words!" Kumiko said.

"Neither can I." Masaru said. "It's a shame we lost Naomi, she'd probably be able to read this easily and translate for us. I don't even recognize the language."

"I wonder why they wrote it in this language though..." Takara said.

"Maybe it's a secret code the thief is using so Teddie doesn't know what they're up to!" Kumiko suggested.

"I'm not sure about that Kumiko." Takara said.

"Well it could happen!" Kumiko said.

"So is there anything else of worth in this room?" Takara asked.

"No, not that I'm aware of." Masaru said. "These papers would probably give us something if we could read them, but I guess we're out of luck there."

"Wait a sec! How'd the thief manage to get to Teddie's office to steal stuff if they were up here?! The elevator's been busted!" Kumiko said.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the elevator's been working this whole time." Takara said.

"Sorry Takara, this turned out to be a waste of time..." Masaru said, rubbing his arm and looking down at the ground.

"No it didn't. We found out where the thief's been this whole time." Takara said. "That's totally worth it. You found something good."

"Welp, if there's no more up here we should go back down!" Kumiko said.

"She's right, let's get going." Takara said. Exiting the room and shutting off the lights, the three of them made their way to the elevator. Takara pressed the button and stepped inside. As Kumiko entered and Masaru pressed the button for the first floor, the doors began to shut quickly and caught her ribbon.

"Ahhhhhhh!!! I've been caught! Someone help me!" she shouted. Masaru froze and ran over to the panicked comic artist. He tried to pull the ribbon out of the door, but it wouldn't budge and only caused Kumiko pain.

"Try undoing the ribbon first!" Takara said. Taking her suggestion, Masaru undid the ribbon and sent Kumiko's large amount of hair out of the ponytail she kept it in. But he still couldn't remove it from the doors. He pulled with all his might as the elevator began to descend. Before it reached the top, he yanked it and fell backwards as the sound of ripping went through the air. In his hands was part of the ribbon, ripped off and now torn. the rest of it was gone.

He handed the remainder of the ribbon to Kumiko. "Sorry, I couldn't get the whole thing." he said.

"Awww, that was my favorite ribbon. Then again it was my only ribbon." Kumiko said. "Oh well, guess I'll just go without my ponytail. I don't got time to fix it anyway."

The elevator opened up to the first floor, and the three students went their separate ways. There probably wasn't anything else of use to find in the hotel, that is unless every single hotel room was examined which there was no time for. Though Takara did decide to check out one last room before looking out at the remainder of the resort. She walked into the rec room, where they all woke up, and found the letter sitting there. Surprisingly, despite having avoided this room for the longest time, the letter didn't have a speck of dust on it. She examined it carefully, trying to see if there was anything strange in it. But no matter how many time she read it, nothing felt out of the ordinary. Regardless, she put it in her bag in case she needed it and walked out.

Standing out in the front of the hotel, she began to wonder where she should go. There could be a secret book in the library, but something could just as likely be hidden in a place they wouldn't expect to look. As she was about to make her choice, Kazumi came walking down from the path that lead to the Entertainment district. The vocalist was looking down at her feet and moved slowly. "You okay there?" Takara asked.

"Shit, I dunno." Kazumi said. "I jus' came back from da theater after watchin' Monokuma's stupid movie."

"Why'd you go watch that?" Takara asked.

"I thought it might have somethin' important!" Kazumi said.

"And did it?" Takara asked.

"I ain't sure." Kazumi said. "Maybe it'll be more clear for ya den me." She walked inside the hotel.

Well that settled things, Takara took the path to the Entertainment district and walked into the theater. Moments after she walked inside, Monokuma was in her face. "Lookie who we have here!" he said. "Could it be another wonderful customer?"

"Shut up, Monokuma, I'm here to see that movie." Takara said.

"Really now? You want to view my masterpiece?" Monokuma asked. "Well, actually I've written things so much better than this, but this one's still a knockout!"

"Just start the damn movie." Takara said.

"Sure thing! Just head on into the first theater on the right!" Monokuma explained. Takara walked through the first door and took a seat. This was definitely a special theater, no wonder they used it for more than just movies. It didn't take long for the lights to go down and the projector to begin playing. The movie didn't have a title screen though, and proceeded to jump right in.

"Once upon a time, there were eighteen children." A voice in the movie said. On-screen were what looked like paper cutouts, each one of them looking like they represented her and the other classmates. "These children had never met before, nor did they have much in common, but they were connected by two things. The first was that they were all talented at something. The second was that they had all experienced hardships.

"For some of the children, it was their families." The figures vanished, and were soon replaced by other scenes, each one featuring a specific student. "One child had a poor family which could only afford the bare necessities. Another had parents who made him feel worthless. One child had parents with high demanding expectations. Another had parents who didn't even care about her. One child didn't even have a family.

"For other children, they had managed to lose the ones who were closest to them." Instead of showing figures, this time old newspaper articles and pictures were shown. "One child lost her mother. One lost the boy she loved. One lost his little sister. One even lost the friend she was trying to save." Takara looked away from the screen, knowing all too well what she was about to witness.

"And then there were the children who had different problems." Takara looked back at the screen, seeing the paper cut-outs returning. "One was forced into doing a task he hated. One was constantly chastised about her femininity. One had been lied to and was coerced into performing horrible actions. One had to hide away her true self to come off as professional. One child was sexually assaulted but no one would believe him. And so on and so forth.

"Some of the children even had multiple hardships. And while some of them could overcome their troubles, it wouldn't end well.

"But then one day, the children were invited to attend a school. While it was no school to learn magic, it was a school specifically made for those with talents. This school was called Hope's Peak Academy." An image of the school appeared on-screen. "All of the children happily accepted. They saw this as their chance to fix their lives and end their hardships. And for a time, all was well. They made friends, and a few even found love. Some got to meet their greatest idols, or be reunited with friends from their past. They thought the school had answered their prayers. But it was not meant to be.

The cut-out of a girl with pigtails appeared. "For not long after arriving at the school, a woman had been creating a movement under their noses. She had recruited other students from the school, along with those from outside. Every movement comes with sacrifices though, and her movement was no different." A picture of a classroom with dried blood and chalk outlines appeared. "It would all be worth it for the world she wished for after all.

"But the teachers of the school didn't like it." Figures of people in suits appeared on screen. "And soon, the headmaster decided to lock the campus of Hope's Peak Academy away from the outside world, hoping it would protect his students. But he had no idea that the leader of the movement was still there working even with his interference.

"For the students she had recruited were still busy at work for her." A girl with glasses appeared on screen, with a white-haired boy walking from behind. "One of her followers set the first event into motion." The boy pulled out a knife and cut the girl's throat. "And the pieces fell into place from there.

"With everything happening around them, the eighteen children began to worry." The figures of the students returned on-screen. "They had come here to escape from their troubles, not gather new ones! Students vanished and died before their very eyes, making them believe they were next. The ones who still carried hope in their hearts were targeted by the followers, with threats being sent against them. But nothing like what happened to the other students befell them. Until one day.

"With no warning, one of the children vanished." A figure was removed, leaving seventeen of them. "They started to get worried. Had their friend been killed? Was she being tortured? They had no way of knowing. But then, as if their worries weren't bad enough, one child with the ability to sense death felt the presence of mass killing over the school. Not wanting to be caught in it, the children spent one last day at the school, preparing to leave and spending the last time they could with their friends and loved ones. Then under the dark of night, with the help of a child who was well-versed in stealth, the children left.

"They went into hiding in an empty building, fortifying it so they couldn't be found. The child who helped them escape went back outside to check on the situation at the school, but he never returned. Leaving only sixteen children with no one to trust but themselves. They didn't want to be found by the woman or her followers. But there was something they did not know.

"For you see, one of the two children who disappeared had become a follower of that very movement. One day, the woman who began the movement was killed, and many of her followers joined her in death by committing suicide. Only a small handful remained, and soon many of them were captured. But one managed to stay hidden, and returned to the sixteen children with a story that they'd been captured and had escaped. That child told the same story to the organization who discovered them and rescued them.

"By this point, many of the children had witnessed terrible things, and needed serious help. The child decided that they would take advantage of the healing process and soon formed a plan. All but they had their memories erased, and hid their form under the guise of a lovable bear. With the advantage of none of them remembering who they were, they could freely act on their plan just like their leader would have wanted. As for the children, they had no idea what was in store for them, but whether they know it or not, they're been caught in a story only they can escape..."

The words "The End" came up on the screen and the movie was over. Takara could only sit in her chair, shocked at what she just saw. Sure, some of it was information she already knew, but it hadn't all been put together in one place. It was almost overwhelming to take everything in at once. No wonder Kazumi was the way she looked.

As she stood up out of the chair and walked out, she heard a sound coming from the lobby. Going out, she saw the monitor had turned on. "They say that no matter what, the show must go on. They also say that all good things must come to an end. And I believe it's about time we end this once and for all. I've prepared a special location for this final test, so please head to the hotel lobby and enter the elevator. You'll find a button that will take you down to where you need to go. Are you excited? Because I know I am! Upupu, I'll meet you at the final site." The monitor shut off.

The elevator? Seemed cliched, but she couldn't say anything against it. Takara walked out and made her way back to the hotel, ashamed that she didn't have more time to look around. Hopefully the others had found the information they needed. Inside the lobby, everyone was waiting in front of the elevator.

"It's about time you got here!" Ryouta said. "Where were you?"

"It doesn't matter, Ryouta." Satoshi said, about to place a hand on his shoulder but remembering his dislike of such actions. "What matters is that we're all here."

"This is it." Masaru said. "Either we leave here, or Monokuma does whatever he wants with us."

"It ain't like it's gonna matter." Kazumi said. "We've beaten everythin' he's thrown at us so far! Dis test'll be a piece of cake!"

"Yeah! We got each other, ya know!" Kumiko said, bouncing up and down as her hair went all over the place.

Takara took a deep breath. "So we're all ready?" she asked. Everyone nodded their heads. "Alright then, let's get going." She pushed the button and the elevator doors opened. Everyone went inside, surprisingly the elevator was bigger on the inside as there was still a ton of room. Takara looked at the buttons, seeing one with Monokuma's face on it instead of a number. She pressed it, sending the elevator down.

If they could complete Monokuma's final test, they were free. The sacrifices their friends had made wouldn't be wasted. It was strange, even though it had only been a few weeks since they woke up here, it felt like months had passed for them to get to this point. Takara swore under her breath that she wouldn't allow anyone else to die here. Not her and not her classmates. The elevator stopped, and the doors began to open with a ding. While the curtain was raising on it's own, they were sure to be the ones who would lower it. At this final trial of life and death.

**6 STUDENTS REMAIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so damn close, I can feel it.


	52. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Class Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This trial's gonna be the death of me, I just know it.

The atmosphere of the room felt eerie. While it was styled to look like the courtroom, there were notable differences. Monokuma was lacking his throne, and was standing at the podiums. In its place was a teacher's desk. There were no picture frames to represent the fallen students at the stands, leaving the ring empty. Instead, the pictures were hung on the walls. Under each picture was an empty desk. The walls were painted a vibrant yellow, though red stains were splattered on it. Takara hoped that it was just paint. Hanging down from the ceiling were banners with the Hope's Peak Academy insignia. Nothing was special about the floor, it was a simple black and white tile pattern with a red carpet leading to the stands. Monokuma was mocking them.

"Wait a second, why are we at the trial room?" Ryouta asked, adjusting his glasses. "There wasn't a murder!"

"Oh come on, did you really think I'd let you investigate without bringing you to a trial?" Monokuma asked. "I thought you'd appreciate my decorations this time around too. What else would be fitting for a final test besides a classroom?"

"How come you ain't got yer throne? An' why're ya at a stand?" Kazumi asked.

"Because this is no ordinary trial!" Monokuma answered. "This is a special occasion! I have to be center stage for this!"

"That sounds egotistical." Takara said.

"Just shut up and take your places." Monokuma said. "We don't got all day!" Everyone went to their usual positions, even though the stands weren't marked. They had all just memorized where they had to stand. Monokuma stood where Minoru's photo would've been, putting him directly in-between Satoshi and Kazumi. The rest of the stands felt empty without the pictures of their classmates there. It was hard to decide if the emptiness was creepier than the pictures. Though it wasn't as if they had just vanished, they were just more spread out. That bear was up to something, Takara could feel it.

"Now then, let's begin with an explanation of your final test!" Monokuma began. "When the investigation began, I gave you bastards a set of questions to answer. If you successfully answer them, then you'll be allowed to leave this resort behind! Fail to answer them correctly, and you'll have an interesting fate waiting for you..."

"That's it, right? We just have to answer those questions and then we can leave?" Ryouta asked, his body shaking.

"Welllllll, that is if you want to." Monokuma answered. "Knowing the truth may be too much for you after all, and you'll change your minds about staying here! But that's all up to you of course!"

"Ya ain't gonna spring any surprise questions on us, are ya?" Kazumi asked.

"Nope!" Monokuma said. "While I'm sure you all have other questions, or will gain some as the test goes on, any other questions will be considered 'extra credit' for the sake of this test."

"You're not gonna change your mind and say we have to stay forever and ever and ever?" Kumiko asked.

"Honestly, I'm a bear of my word!" Monokuma answered. "Now if there aren't anymore stupid questions, let the final test begin!"

"We should start by going over those questions." Takara said. "That way we know for sure what we're dealing with."

"If I remember correctly, the questions were 'where have we been brought to?' 'Why are you here?' 'Why did we willingly give up our memories?' 'Who's controlling Monokuma?" 'What do they want with us?' and 'Who are the seventeenth and eighteenth students?'" Masaru said.

"Is there any specific order we have to answer them in?" Satoshi asked.

"Nah. Fell free to answer in whatever order you choose!" Monokuma said.

"In that case, let's get the easiest question out of the way." Takara said. "The identity of the missing students."

"Yeah, dat one's a no brainer." Kazumi said.

"The seventeenth and eighteenth students are Saemi Sasagawa, Super High School Level Playwright, and Shuuya Kuronaga!" Kumiko said. "But...we don't know his talent."

"Actually, I do." Takara said.

"Huh?! How'd you figure it out?!" Ryouta asked.

"It might sound crazy, but I had the strangest dream." Takara explained. "Except it wasn't just a dream, it was a memory. A memory I had forgotten."

"What happened in this dream?" Masaru asked.

"We were all at Hope's Peak Academy." Takara said. "It was late at night, we had all gathered in Chiyo's dorm room. We discussed some sort of plan about leaving the school and said we'd leave in twenty-four hours."

"Wuzzat gotta do with Kuronaga's talent?" Kazumi asked.

"He mentioned it in the dream." Takara answered. "Shuuya Kuronaga is the Super High School Level Assassin."

"But how can we be sure?" Ryouta asked. "You said it was a dream, so for all we know you just imagined the whole thing."

"Wait a second, Miyako's reminder book said something about an assassin!" Masaru said.

"Is dat even enough to prove it?" Kazumi asked.

"Do we have anything else to go off of?" Masaru pointed out. "Miyako even showed us how she couldn't have written it, so it must be from him or something."

"How come Shuu's talent was hidden anyway?" Kumiko asked.

"Probably because the mastermind wanted to hide his identity." Ryouta said. "They managed to remove our memories of him and Saemi, so obviously the fact that they existed was troublesome for them."

"Exactly, and the reason why will be made clear in time." Takara said.

"So is that your final answer?" Monokuma asked, leaning forward.

"Well, considerin' we don' got much else ta go on... Yeah." Kazumi said.

"That is..........correct!" Monokuma announced.

"Why did you need to pause like that?" Ryouta asked.

"Is was for dramatic effect, Hoshino! Don't you know anything?" Monokuma asked, shaking his head in disappointment. "Anyway, next question!"

"Where we are should be an easy one to answer." Satoshi said.

"I know, that's not even a beginner level puzzle!" Kumiko said. "We're in Paradise Resort, of course!"

"Oh come on, you really think I'd give you a question with such an obvious answer?!" Monokuma asked. "Try again!"

"I thought we weren't gettin' second chances?" Kazumi asked.

"You are in this case because I can't accept an answer like that!" Monokuma replied.

"Well then, there must be something more to the answer that we're missing." Masaru said as he scratched his head. "We need to get more specific."

"Hmmmm... It's a mountain resort, we know that much." Ryouta said. "But we don't know exactly where it is. There's nothing here that tells us what country we're in. Not even a brochure or something."

Takara stood in silence, thinking about what she had seen earlier. If her theory was correct, then this place wasn't what it seemed. "I might have an idea, but it's a bit of a stretch."

"Considerin' ya were right 'bout Kuronaga's talent, I'm willin' ta listen." Kazumi said.

"Alright, just stay with me while I talk about this." Takara said. "Think carefully about what this resort is like. Try to remember the facilities it has, which ones stood out to you the most?"

Everyone went silent, taking a moment to ponder what she said. "Ummmmm, the arcade's pretty cool! Ooo, and the lounge!" Kumiko said.

"I did like dat karaoke bar, even after what happened in dere." Kazumi said.

"Sorry, I didn't really leave the restaurant kitchen much. Can that count as the place that stood out to me?" Masaru asked with a nervous laugh.

"I guess I'd say the botanical garden." Ryouta guessed.

"Hmmm, the museum left an impact I suppose." Satoshi admitted. "What about you, Kara-chan?"

"If I had to pick, then I'd say the printing press." Takara answered. "Now tell me, what do these places all have in common?"

"An arcade, a karaoke bar, a restaurant kitchen, a botanical garden, a museum, and a printing press all have something in common?" Ryouta said. "Are you sure about that?"

"Believe me, there is." Takara insisted. "It's not obvious, but you'll figure it out if you think hard enough."

Once again, everyone returned to thinking. What did all those places have in common, and why was it so important? There had to be something they were missing...

"Wait a sec, I think I got somethin'." Kazumi said. "Dose areas, dey're all places we'd each be drawn towards?"

"Oh come on, is that all you could come up with?" Ryouta asked.

"She's right though." Takara said. "All of them are places we'd be drawn to."

"Huh? How can that be the link?" Kumiko asked, cocking her head to the side. "I don't get it."

"Well, I'll start with your example." Takara said. "You said the arcade and lounge. You like playing video games a lot, and both of those places happen to have a large collection of games. And then there's Ryouta. With so many different types of plants, why wouldn't you enjoy the garden? The fact that each of us has a place in the resort doesn't come off as odd to any of you?"

"It could be coincidence, you know." Satoshi said.

"Considering that there happens to be one area for each of us, I highly doubt it can be brushed off as mere coincidence." Takara said. "After all, even our dead classmates have a place for them. Hell, so do both of the missing students!"

"How can you tell though?" Masaru asked.

"I'll admit, some of these places can be coincidental, but others just don't make sense!" Takara explained. "Why would there be a library filled with books in foreign languages unless someone here could read them?"

"This place gets a lot of foreigners?" Kumiko suggested.

"But the only languages used in the resort are Japanese and English." Takara said. "So unless someone could understand and translate those books, someone like Naomi, they'd be useless here! And the theater! Why is it a movie theater, concert hall, and a stage all at the same time?"

"What, you're saying this resort was made specifically for us?" Kumiko asked. "But that's impossible!"

"I agree with her, there's no proof that that's the case!" Ryouta said.

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Inside the manager's office, I happened to stumble upon a map of the resort."

"So what?" Kazumi said.

"This map had comments written on it." Takara explained. "Comments that wouldn't make any sense on a normal map."

"How's that?" Masaru asked.

"They specifically mentioned us in them." Takara said. "Saying that a certain area would fit for this person or that person. Can you really claim that's a coincidence?"

"Hold on, let me get this straight," Ryouta said. "You're telling me that this whole resort was built just for us?"

"Yes...and no." Takara said.

"Eh? How is it yes and no?" Kumiko asked.

"This resort was made for us, but it wasn't built." Takara said. "Paradise Resort doesn't even exist."

"But if it don' exist, how da fuck are we here?!" Kazumi asked.

"Because Paradise Resort doesn't exist in the real world." Takara said. "We're in a simulation."

"How can this be a simulation?!" Ryouta asked. "I've felt the breeze and sun on my face, I've gotten hungry and tired, hell I've felt pain from all the times I've been hurt in the face!"

"Remember what that person Kumiko got in contact with told us?" Takara said. "She mentioned something about how we were subjects, and something called the New World Program. From what she told us, this program has the power to change memories. And it's already clear that we gave up ours. But it isn't perfect, just like she said. These memories can be triggered with the right circumstances. We've seen that first hand already."

"Wait, ya don' mean..." Kazumi said.

"I do." Takara said. "Remember what Shizuka told us before she was executed? She remembered someone she was close to from our time at the school. That person said that memories of someone like a lover or close friend are most likely to come back. Those files she saw must have been the trigger. Even before that, there were moments where it seemed like she was forgetting someone."

"But we don't even know why she remembered anything. Who's to say that proves your theory?" Satoshi said.

"We were also told that certain memories could linger back in our minds on a subconscious level." Takara explained. "Kumiko, seeing the file of that one student made you start crying remember?"

"Yeah, but I don't know why." Kumiko said.

"Your memories of that guy might be suppressed, but the emotional response is still there." Takara said. "Something must have happened between you two and seeing his photo brought back that feeling. Your head may have forgotten, but your heart didn't."

"That's still ridiculous! It doesn't prove anything!" Ryouta shouted.

"Fine, there's one more thing I can think of that can convince you." Takara said. "Kazumi, can you tell me why you and Shizuka clicked so fast?"

"Huh? Shit, like I know dat." Kazumi said, scratching her arm. "I jus' felt like she was the kinda person I'd get along with. An' she wasn' intimidated by me so dere's dat."

"But you had no way of knowing what she was like, you'd never met her before." Takara said. "Yet somehow you managed to become friends instantly. Doesn't that seem strange?"

"Maybe? Like I fuckin' know!" Kazumi said.

"And what about you, Satoshi?" Takara turned towards the archaeologist. "It didn't take long for you to act friendly with me."

Satoshi's face went pink. "Well, um, I heard about you before and admired you. Why wouldn't I act friendly with you?" he asked.

"But why would you be so quick to give me that nickname?" Takara asked. "I'm the only one you gave a nickname to, and it was only minutes after we introduced ourselves. Doesn't that seem strange to you?"

Satoshi opened his mouth to speak, but stopped to think about her words. "It does seem weird." he said. "That name just sort of came to me and felt natural, so I went with it. It didn't occur to me why that was."

"Wait, I don't get it." Kumiko said. What's the big deal here?"

"The big deal is that despite us not knowing each other, we all seemed to gravitate towards people as if we knew them." Takara explained. "Aside from you and Chiyo, it wouldn't make sense for any of us to feel friendly towards anyone here. Ayame and Hikaru, Kaito and Arata, none of them knew each other before all this. Even Shigeru, who acted like he didn't give a damn about any of us, spent so much time with Naomi without reason! There's only one reason why that could be, and that's because we knew each other well enough before all this and remember that subconsciously!"

"Okay, I think we get what you're saying." Masaru said. "This is starting to get off-topic though."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Takara said.

"So we're inside a big computer program that's created the perfect resort for us?" Kumiko asked. "And we all became friends again because of some weird spidey sense?"

"If you wanna put it that way, then I guess so." Takara said. "We're in the New World Program, which created a 'paradise' for us in the guise of a resort."

"So that's your final answer?" Monokuma asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ryouta said.

"Damn you brats are smart! You got it right!" Monokuma said. "Maybe I should've come up with harder questions for you."

"You've been awful quiet throughout all this, even though you wanted to join us." Takara said. "What's your plan, Monokuma?"

"I couldn't interrupt that brilliant deduction, now could I?" The bear asked. "Besides, I'll be contributing soon enough. Just move on to the next question, before I get impatient!"

"Well, how about we answer why we're here?" Satoshi suggested.

"This New World Program... Didn't that person, or whatever she was, tell us this was meant for therapy?" Ryouta said.

"Yeah. She certainly did!" Kumiko said.

"So we needed therapy?" Kazumi said. "Why da fuck is dat?"

"We managed to escape Hope's Peak Academy, that we already know." Takara said. "And we ended up watching this 'School Life of Mutual Killing'. Which I can only guess is similar to our situation, only in real life."

"Still, what would that have to do with therapy?" Satoshi asked.

"Whatever we saw, it broke us." Takara said. "When the Future Foundation found us, we had all developed mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, maybe even PTSD if I had to guess."

"Are you serious?" Ryouta said.

"Oh yeah, you were all total wrecks before coming in here!" Monokuma piped up. "Believe it or not, Akamine was in a worse state of depression than when Ueda was killed! And Hoshino, your paranoia was off the charts! You didn't want anyone five feet from you unless it was one of your classmates! And Teruya, man I don't think I've seen someone so optimistic turn into the most depressed person on Earth!"

"We were that bad, huh?" Kazumi said, looking down at the ground. "Wait, I remember Tsukuda's journal sayin' somethin' 'bout dat!"

"I found more then just that." Takara explained. "I found something else in that office. Printed out e-mails. One of them was to a Makoto Naegi, and it said how we needed recovery."

"Makoto Naegi... Where have I heard that name before?" Masaru said.

"Ooooooo! I know, I know!" Kumiko said, jumping up and down with her hand in the air. "Makoto was one of the people who survived that first mutual killing thingy!"

"She's right, I remember seeing his name!" Satoshi said.

So that's why it felt familiar. "He was recruited into the Future Foundation then." Takara said. "And from there, he found us and put us in the program so we could all heal."

"Hold on a second, something's not adding up!" Ryouta exclaimed. "What about Miyako? She didn't have any of her memories erased, but she should've been just as messed up as the rest of us! So why didn't she act like she was disturbed?"

"I think I can answer that." Satoshi said. He pulled out a sheet of paper. "I went into her room to see if I could find anything related to her task of watching us. I figured she would have more information on everything, and I found this."

"'Kay, what da fuck is it?" Kazumi asked.

"It's a summary of her assignment." Satoshi answered. "It says that they picked her because out of all of us, she had the least psycological damage."

"Wooooooow, Mimiya must've been hardcore or something!" Kumiko said.

"She still had problems though, but compared to the rest of us she was the most stable." Satoshi said.

"It's true! I don't remember what her deal was, but I'm pretty sure nightmares were involved." Monokuma added. "I think Yoshihara was still pretty stable, but whatever was wrong with him didn't put him through the running. Then again, I think reuniting with his girlfriend had something to do with his mental state improving."

"Yoshihara had a girlfriend?!" Kazumi shouted. "Damn, lucky bastard!"

"He never said anything about a girlfriend though." Masaru said.

"That's because they met at Hope's Peak." Monokuma explained. "But I've gone and said too much about that, get back to the show!"

"He's right, we're getting sidetracked." Satoshi said. "Anyway, they figured that the most stable would be the best person to make their mole. So they told her the plan and had her keep her memories."

"Okay, that makes sense." Ryouta said as he adjusted his glasses.

"So we're here because we needed therapy, due to the events we saw after escaping Hope's Peak Academy." Takara said.

"Reallllly? Is that your final answer?" Monokuma asked.

"Are ya gonna do dat every fuckin' time?!" Kazumi snapped. "It's already gettin' on my nerves!"

"Yes, I am. I have to!" Monokuma said. "I have to play fair, so I need to make sure you're absolutely sure about your answer!"

"Son of a bitch." Kazumi muttered.

"Yes, it's our final answer." Masaru said.


	53. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Class Trial II

"Right again!" Monokuma announced, a hint of irritation in his voice. "That makes three in a row!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. Yer pissed off." Kazumi said as she rolled her eyes. "Jus' get on with it."

"Oh no, you're the ones who have to 'get on with it' so to speak!" Monokuma said. "Next question!"

"How about we talk about why we gave up our memories?" Masaru suggested. "After all, we have something to go off of to answer that one."

"Seeing that School Life of Mutual Killing or whatever reeeeeally did a number on us!" Kumiko said.

"But that can't be all there is to it." Satoshi said. "If it was, we'd only have our memories of the time we were in hiding erased. But we had our memories of Hope's Peak removed as well. There must be a reason why."

"Well of course there is!" Monokuma said. "You really think you'd just get rid of those memories for no reason? There's a lot that happened, believe it or not!"

"But we can't remember any of it..." Ryouta said. "The only one who did have any memories is dead."

"We might not remember what happened, but we were given the materials to work it out." Takara said.

"Wait, you mean..." Masaru began to say.

"The files and items the thief left for us." Takara finished.

"We should try to remember what they talked about." Satoshi said. "We can put the pieces together from there."

"Let's see... I remember something about a 'Super High School Level Despair'!" Kumiko said.

"They did come up pretty often in the files." Ryouta said. "They were an organization that caused chaos and destruction in the name of despair. They consisted of Hope's Peak Academy students and were led by Junko Enoshima. But they managed to spread their influence to outside the school."

"Ahhhh, Junko Enoshima. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while!" Monokuma said. "It's like music to my fuzzy ears!"

"Shut up, ya furry freak!" Kazumi shouted.

"They did a lot more than that." Takara said. "They did something in the school, something that started this whole mess."

"And that would be?" Kumiko asked.

"They killed the Hope's Peak Student Counsel." Takara said. "Some time afterwords, the information of that event spread to the Reserve Course students and outside of the school. Riots began, and the school was put under lockdown to keep the remaining students safe."

"Doesn't sound like it did much good, since we tried to escape." Masaru said.

"Members of Super High School Level Despair were still in the school. My guess is that they managed to keep a low profile until then." Takara explained. "And even with the school locked off from the rest of the world, they managed to cause chaos."

"Wait a second, I remember something that was written in my plant log." Ryouta said. "Something about another class..."

"...Students were vanishing and being killed." Takara said. "A member of that group murdered someone in the school, and things went worse from there."

"How do you know that?!" Kumiko asked.

"Monokuma...had this messed up movie. It explained what happened at the school." Takara said.

"That's pretty convenient." Satoshi said.

"What was this movie about?" Masaru asked nervously, a concerning look on his face.

"...Us." Takara hesitated to answer.

"Do I want to know what else it said about us?" Masaru asked.

"...It talked about our past." Takara began. "Whoever's in control of Monokuma, they know more about us than we thought."

"Dey know 'bout all da shit we went through before goin' ta Hope's Peak." Kazumi added. "It didn' show everythin' but it showed enough."

"Did it say...who went through what?" Satoshi asked.

"No, there were only implications." Takara said. "Some of them I knew already, the others I knew nothing about."

"But dat ain't all it talked 'bout." Kazumi said. "Like Tsukuda said, it told da short version of what happened at da school. An' it ain't pretty. Too much people dyin' if ya ask me."

"Oh come on, there's no way the mastermind knows everything that happened!" Ryouta shouted.

"That's where you're wrong, Hoshino!" Monokuma piped up. "I know everything about you brats! I know who you loved, who you were friends with, even your darkest secrets and worse nightmares!"

"I doubt that!" Kumiko said.

"You don't believe me then?" Monokuma asked. "Allow me to prove you wrong." He cleared his throat. "You, Kumiko Akamine, had parents who didn't give a damn about you! They ignored you and left you by yourself all the time, and even when they were around they acted like you didn't exist! You were such a lonely little girl who just wanted your parents to love you. Hell, you're _still_ that lonely little girl!"

"Huh?" Kumiko said. "But that's..."

"I'm correct, aren't I?" Monokuma asked.

"How could you know that?!" Kumiko asked. It looked like she was shaking, and it seemed like she was about to cry.

"I know a lot about you, all of you! I know things that you've never even told anyone!" Monokuma said.

"The point is, that movie told me that things weren't so great at Hope's Peak." Takara said, trying to bring the discussion back on topic. "We escaped to avoid getting killed, so whatever we went through there couldn't be much better than what we're going through now."

"Trauma." Ryouta said. "That must be it. The combined experiences did a huge toll on our mental state, it wasn't just that School Life of Mutual Killing that did it. And since we were given the chance to heal, we wanted all of it gone. All our memories of Hope's Peak and what came after were too much, so we got rid of it."

"You really think so, Ryose?" Kumiko asked.

"There's nothing else that makes sense." Ryouta said.

"But did we really agree to all that?" Masaru asked.

"Yes, I have proof." Takara said. She pulled the disc from before out of her bag. "I found this in the office. On it is the proof that we agreed to be a part of this Paradise Rehabilitation Project. There's footage of all of us being interviewed about what the project entailed."

"So it was too much fer our heads den." Kazumi said. "Yeah, dat makes sense."

"Is that what you're going with?" Monokuma asked.

"Youuuuu betcha!" Kumiko said.

"Grrrrr, right again!" Monokuma said, stomping his foot repeatedly. "You all think you're so smart, don't you? Well then, Tsukuda, since you seem to have figured everything out, I'm picking the next question for you to answer! Tell me who I am! Who is the person controlling me?!"

"You're that upset over all this?" Masaru said.

"Sounds like someone's a sore loser!" Kumiko said.

Takara stood there in thought. "I haven't figured everything out, but I know I can narrow down your identity." she said. "You're either Saemi Sasagawa or Shuuya Kuronaga, one of the two missing students."

"That's right, seventeen of us were placed in this program." Satoshi said.

"And we were told that eight of us are still kicking!" Kumiko said. "The six of us, whoever's behind Teddie, and the thief!"

"The only question is, which one am I?" Monokuma asked. "Am I Saemi? Or am I Shuuya?"

"Shit, how da fuck should we know?" Kazumi asked.

"Maybe if we think about Monokuma's behavior and patterns, we can figure out which one's the mastermind." Ryouta suggested.

"But we don't know what either of them are like." Satoshi said.

"Well, it's not like we have any better ideas." Takara said. "Let's go with it."

"Besides, people have these liiiiiiitle quirks and tics they don't always know about!" Kumiko said. "Teddie's controller probably has them too!"

"Quirks and tics?" Masaru asked.

"Certain habits, specific reactions, even movements and phrases!" Kumiko explained. "For example, Nyaomi was always pushing her glasses back up on her face, ya know? And Kazuzu's always swearing!"

"I am?" Kazumi asked. "Huh, neva even noticed."

"How do you not even notice your own foul mouth?!" Ryouta asked.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Kumiko said. "You may not know you do it, but others will pick up on it crystal clear! Teddie has them too, we just have to figure out what they are!"

"It's all we can go off on, so let's do it." Takara said. "Where should we start?"

"He does tend to be dramatic." Ryouta said with a scoff. "Over-dramatic."

"Does dat really count though?" Kazumi asked.

"He takes pleasure in seeing us kill each other and fall into despair." Satoshi said.

"But he's being controlled by a remnant of despair." Takara said. "I'm pretty sure that comes standard with them."

"...He's a sore loser?" Kumiko said.

"I don't think that's a quirk." Masaru said.

"Ya know, I'm startin' ta think dis ain't workin'." Kazumi said. "All we got is dat dey're a kill-happy psycho."

"Kill-happy..." Kumiko said. "I got it! That must mean he's being controlled by Shuu!"

"Huh?" Takara said. Was that it? The answer couldn't be so simple, right?"

"Teddie went to some super amazing lengths to hide information about him from us, including his super duper talent! Why else would he do that unless there was some super secret reason for it!" Kumiko explained. "And let's face it, an assassin knows how to kill better than anyone! So Monokuma has to be controlled by Shuu!"

"That kinda makes sense." Masaru said. "It's better than nothing."

"Is that what you're going with?" Monokuma asked, a hint of pleasure in his voice.

No, something was wrong about this. "Wait!" Takara shouted. "We're not going with this answer!"

"What da hell, Tsukuda? Why're ya stoppin' us?" Kazumi asked. "We got our answer, don' we?"

"It can't be that simple though. It doesn't make sense!" Takara insisted. "None of it adds up!"

"It makes enough sense to me. Only someone trained to kill would put us through some sick and twisted situation like this." Ryouta said.

"But that's not how an assassin does things." Takara said. "Assassins are trained to strike from the shadows, to be stealthy and silent. If Shuuya wanted us dead, he'd have done it in subtlety instead of drag it out like this! You said so yourself, Ryouta. Monokuma is over-dramatic. Those executions are proof enough of that! An assassin wouldn't come up with something so over the top and flashy!"

"But then, how'd they get all that information?" Satoshi asked.

"They have files on us." Takara answered. "Our student profiles and who knows what else! I didn't have the chance to see what else there was. And I have a feeling that he didn't get these by asking for them."

"What, yer sayin' it ain't Kuronaga?" Kazumi asked.

"It can't be!" Takara said. "The real identity of the mastermind, the one who put us all through this, can be none other than Saemi Sasagawa!"

Monokuma didn't speak, nor did he move.

"I think Teddie's broken." Kumiko said.

"Upu. Upupupupu! Rats, I thought my acting was perfect!" he said, continuing to remain still.

"Please, everyone knows your acting is mediocre at best." A new voice said.

"Huh? What was that?" Satoshi asked.

"I'm glad you managed to figure it out, Takara. Even without your memory you know better than to jump to conclusions." The voice spoke again.

"Okay, this is getting kinda freaky." Takara said. "Who's talking to me?"

"You should know who I am. After all, you did defend my good name." A figure dropped down from the ceiling, landing in Shigeru's spot. A tall young man stood there, wearing a long, black trench coat that obscured his other clothing. His black hair was scruffy, going down to his shoulders, and his eyes looked to be glowing red. "You don't remember who I am, so I guess I should introduce myself. I am Shuuya Kuronaga, Super High School Level Assassin." He smirked. "And I'm the thief Miyako let in."

"Wooooah, what a twist!" Kumiko said.

"But how... You went missing!" Ryouta said, readjusting his glasses to make sure he was seeing things clearly.

"I didn't go missing, per say. I was just busy." Shuuya said. "I've been trying to keep Super High School Level Despair under control this entire time. It's my job as a member of the Future Foundation after all."

"How come ya didn' show up durin' dat whole time?" Kazumi asked.

"It's not like I left you there. I just had other priorities to deal with. I made sure the Future Foundation would find you once the chaos started to die down." Shuuya turned to glare at Monokuma. "I didn't expect that _she_ would be there with you."

"Ahhhhh, Shuuya! You're alive!" Monokuma said. Was he swooning over Shuuya? "I thought the worst had happened when you weren't with the others! But here you are, still as handsome as ever!"

"You're disgusting, Saemi." Shuuya said. "Why are you still masquerading as that stupid bear of hers? They already deduced the truth. Show them who you really are."

"Only for you, Shuuya-baby!" Monokuma said. Takara cringed, that was not a phrase she wanted to hear from the bear. Monokuma jumped off of the stand he used to make himself level with the others. Steam came from seemingly nowhere as it surrounded him. A flash of light nearly blinded the seven students. When the light vanished and the steam began to dissipate, Monokuma was gone.

Standing in his place was a young woman with pale pink hair that went past her chest. Two bear hairclips were placed in it, one all white and the other all black. A black waistcoat, which looked like it was modified from a jacket, covered a white blouse. She wore a knee-length red skirt with long white stockings covering her legs. She stomped a boot on the ground and gave a sickeningly sweet smile. "Hellooooooo my dear classmates, it's been a long time since you've seen me like this! Anyway, you got it correct! I am Saemi Sasagawa, former Super High School Level Playwright, and the only remaining member of Super High School Level Despair!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys don't know how long I've been waiting to write Saemi and Shuuya.


	54. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Class Trial III

"Saemi Sasagawa? You're the one who put us through all this?" Satoshi asked.

"Of course I am!" Saemi said with a wink.

"She's the only person who could be controlling Monokuma after all." Takara said.

"I'm impressed, Takara. Very impressed. Well done!" Saemi said, clapping her hands. "How ever did you figure it out? Was it really that obvious it was me?"

"Kumiko mentioned everyone has quirks and tics, even Monokuma." Takara said. "And I realized one that he had while you controlled him. You had a penchant for talking about the theater and using terms connected to it. I doubt someone like Shuuya would do such a thing."

"Like I'd say anything ridiculous." Shuuya said.

"You also mentioned something before I watched that movie of yours." Takara continued. "Something about how you've written better things?"

"Aww nuts! I thought you wouldn't noticed that!" Saemi said. "Oh well, no point in dwelling on that now is there?"

"This is the face of Monokuma..." Masaru said.

"Innnnn the flesh!" Saemi said with a large grin.

"What are you wearing?!" Kumiko asked.

"You're the last person to be asking me that, you know!" Saemi said. "That's something I expected Arata to ask me, but he's dead, so too bad!"

"Enough of this foolishness!" Shuuya shouted. "Saemi Sasagawa, you know why I'm here."

"Awww, what's the matter?" Saemi asked, acting as if she hadn't done anything wrong. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Shuuya shouted. "What you've done is unforgivable! You've turned this therapeutic program into another game of killing, created by her design! You've deceived your friends, your former classmates, and for what?! Well I for one can no longer stand it! By the athority of the Future Foundation, I am going to end this by my own hand!"

"Ohhhhh, I'm soooo scared!" Saemi said. She burst into laughter. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you can't do that juuuuuuust yet!"

"And what's stopping me?" Shuuya asked, glaring at the playwright.

"Since you've managed to hide from me all this time, surely you've been watching everything from a distance!" Saemi said. "And you should know that the final test must be completed before these six can go anywhere!"

"You don't have the power to decide that!" Shuuya said.

"Oh, but I do!" Saemi exclaimed. "You know, there's a lot I've learned as a member of Super High School Level Despair. One of those things happened to be some program hacking! I'm not considered as a student by the program anymore! I have the authority of the chaperone! So whatever I say, goes! If you kill me here, then all of you will be trapped in here forever! Upupupupupu!"

"Da fuck?! She can't be serious 'bout dat!" Kazumi said.

"But do you have any way to tell? And are you willing to risk it?" Saemi asked. "The only way this can end, and the only way Shuuya can finally get his revenge, is if you answer the last question and pass the test! It's not like you have that much left, after all. I'm sure that with Shuuya here, you'll be able to do it!"

"But how are we supposed to know what you want with us?!" Ryouta asked.

"Maybe Shuu can tell us! He's the one who was stealing all her stuff for us after all!" Kumiko said.

"I'm sorry, I don't know any more than you do on this matter." Shuuya said. "I could only glance at the files I took."

"Why were you giving us those files anyway?" Masaru asked.

"I was hoping that you could utilize the information inside to figure out what was happening, maybe even jog some memories from the past." Shuuya explained. "Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. It just seemed to get _her_ more information to exploit for her motives."

"So it's thanks to you that I got Miyako working for me, and giving me the idea for a third motive so quickly! Thanks, Shuuya-baby!" Saemi said.

"And those old notebooks and stuff?" Kumiko asked.

"I brought those in with me for similar reasons." Shuuya explained. "I figured you'd notice something suspicious about them and figure out something was up."

"Enough useless talk! The clock is tickinggggg!" Saemi said.

"But we still have no idea what you want with us!" Ryouta said.

"One thing's for certain, you weren't intending to execute us if we guessed incorrectly." Takara said.

"What? She wasn't going to execute us?" Satoshi asked.

"That's impossible!" Ryouta said. "We saw her execute Kaito, Ayame, Shizuka, and Arata! Why would she execute them if it wasn't her intention?"

"You didn't seem to listen to her very well, Ryouta." Saemi said. "Those four all broke the rules, so they had to be punished! But if any of them had gotten away with it, now that's a different story!"

"But what would you have done with them if they had deceived us?" Masaru asked.

"I'd have kept my word and let them leave!" Saemi said.

"Like you'd keep your word like that." Shuuya said.

"It's true though! I'd have let them leave the resort with their memories of this place intact, just like you Future Foundation losers intended!" Saemi explained. "There was no point in including people like them in the grand scheme of things!"

"The grand scheme?" Kazumi asked.

"Sorry, that's spoilers!" Saemi said, covering her mouth.

"We're not going to get everything out of her. She plays by her own rules." Shuuya said.

"Okay, so why would she tell us we would be executed when we wouldn't be?" Satoshi asked.

"Maybe it was just a threat?" Masaru suggested.

"No way! She was trying to trick us somehow!" Kumiko said.

"She could've been lying so the rest of us would continue the game." Ryouta said.

"Knowing Saemi, I highly doubt that." Shuuya said.

"Den maybe she wanted us for somethin'?" Kazumi said.

"That's exactly it!" Takara said. "Saemi wanted us for some bigger plan. Her little notebook said so."

"How rude Takara! You should know better than to go snooping in another girls diary like that!" Saemi said. "I thought you were better than that!"

"But what kind of plan is it? And why would she use you?" Shuuya asked.

"I don't know the specifics." Takara said. "I only read a section of it because of the time limit. All I know is that it said something about how Super High School Level Despair wasn't dead."

"But then, why would she need us to kill each other for that?" Satoshi asked.

"Man, I thought you were more clever than this!" Saemi said. "But I guess since you're too dense, I'll be generous and give you a hint! As you know, I'm the only remnant of despair left."

"Why is that anyway? You keep making a big deal about that." Ryouta said.

"Allow me to tell you a little story." Saemi said, clearing her throat. "You see, there were once many of us. But when that _stupid_ Makoto Naegi and his friends killed the dear Junko Enoshima, most of her followers killed themselves! It was a mass suicide for the ages! However, sixteen of us still survived and had spread out to continue her plans. We spread despair all over the country in whatever way possible! We were all independent of one another, but hoo boy did we cause a ruckus! But unfortunately, the _Future Foundation_ caught wind of what we were doing and began to capture us one by one. Except for me that is. As luck would have it, I managed to find the sixteen of you in hiding and convinced you to let me in. Man, you all fell for it hook, line, and sinker!

"Anyway, the rest of the remnants were all brought to a place called Jabberwock Island. They hooked them up to the same program we're all in right now! Well, technically it was a prototype of the program but who cares about the details! Their plan was to erase their memories and revert them back to the way they were before Junko found them. But this one dude, Izuru Kamukura, he had a little AI on his hands. An AI of the lovely Junko Enoshima herself! By placing it into the New World Program, she would reignite the spark of despair she put in them in the first place.

"Long story short, that plan failed. And now the ones who died in the program went into a coma, though I think some of them are just plain brain dead! The few that did survive were reverted back though, and now they're trying to bring back the ones who are still in a coma. But then the Future Foundation, with help from Shuuya-baby here, found us and brought us to be healed from all the mental damage done. But little did they know that I didn't change a damn bit! I'm full of delicious despair from head to toe! But I still needed the lot of you, so I tricked them! I told them I realized the error of my ways, and that I would never serve under Junko if given the chance! And they fell for it too!"

"Which is amazing considering your acting is mediocre at best." Shuuya said.

"What the fuck do you know?!" Saemi snapped. "No one can recognize true talent when they see it!"

"Just get on with it." Shuuya said, turning his head away from the girl.

"But there isn't that much to tell!" Saemi said.

"What exactly would this AI Junko have done to reignite despair?" Kumiko asked.

"She was going to upload herself into the comatose students." Shuuya explained. "She wanted to take over the world by making everyone into Junko Enoshima."

"That...sounds idiotic." Ryouta said.

"You just don't understand the glory of her plan!" Saemi said. "But then again, you never really understood anything! I'll bet that even if you figured out my plan you wouldn't understand it!"

"What, you're trying to become the new Junko Enoshima or something?" Takara asked.

"Oh no, I couldn't come anywhere close to her greatness!" Saemi said. "Besides, someone else is already attempting that. No, my plan will be much more grand than that!"

"Did you develop a god complex or something?" Shuuya asked.

"Ohhh, you're so harsh, Shuuya-baby!" Saemi said. "I wonder why that is? Could it be because of what happened to Miyako?"

"Don't you DARE talk about her like that!" Shuuya shouted, slamming his fists against the stand.

"Ahhhh, I've struck a nerve!" Saemi said. "I wonder, did you watch her blow her brains out knowing you couldn't save her? Or did you just find her body and see what she had done? I wish I could've seen the look of despair on your face!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Shuuya screamed.

"Or maybe it was worse knowing that she didn't even remember your name?" Saemi said. "You must've wanted to see her again after all this time, only for her to not recognize you. Poor, poor, thing. It was enjoyable having that little bitch working for me!"

A hidden blade came put of Shuuya's sleeve. "ARE YOU ASKING FOR ME TO KILL YOU?! BECAUSE YOU KNOW I WON'T HESITATE!" he shouted.

"Shuu, calm down!" Kumiko said. "That's what she wants from you!"

"Kumiko's right, she's trying to antagonize you." Ryouta said. "Don't let her get to you, it isn't worth it."

"Besides, as much as I'd love ta see her dead, we'll be stuck here if ya do it!" Kazumi said. "I want revenge jus' as much as ya do, believe me."

"You guys aren't any fun!" Saemi said, sticking out her tounge at them.

"That story of hers, it must have something to do with what she wants with us." Masaru said.

"Super High School Level Despair... what does that have anything to do with us?" Satoshi asked.

Takara stopped to think. Saemi wanted them specifically, and she didn't want to kill them all at once. And then there was her tale about the remnants of despair, it all had to mean something. But what?

"Upupupu, you're all clueless!" Saemi said. "This should be easy for a group like you!"

Takara froze. An idea had come to her, but it wasn't a pleasant one. She didn't want to believe it could be the case, but what else did she have to go on?

"Is something wrong, Takara?" Satoshi asked.

"I...think I know what she wants with us." Takara said. "She...wants us to become the new Super High School Level Despair..."

"Oh come on, that's just insane!" Ryouta said.

"Exactly. Which is why someone like Saemi would come up with it." Shuuya said.

"Oh, I guess you're not so clueless after all!" Saemi said.

"Wait, it's true?!" Kumiko said.

"Well I certainly can't go spreading despair on my own!" Saemi said. "My dear Junko may have given me the gift, but I'm nowhere near as grand as she is! So I figure I need an army, a new Super High School Level Despair to help me! I might not become the new Junko Enoshima, but I can certain;y become the new leader of despair!"

"Is that why you're dressed like her? Or are you just that obsessed with the maniac?" Shuuya asked.

"Junko wasn't a maniac! She was a genius!" Saemi insisted. "Only she had the mind to come up with such amazing plans! As for why I'm dressed like her, I figured I'd try to get in character for the role of Monokuma! Turns out just attaching a body part doesn't work!"

"Wait, did she say a body part?!" Takara asked.

"I certainly did!" Saemi answered with a playful grin.

"The surviving members of Super High School Level Despair took body parts from Junko Enoshima's body and attached them onto themselves." Shuuya explained. "The other Future Foundation members believed her story that she didn't believe in Junko anymore, so they didn't bother to check her body for any strange limbs or scars."

"That's just disgusting!" Kumiko said.

"Don't knock it til you try it!" Saemi said.

"Can we get back to the whole 'making us Super High School Level Despair' thing please?!" Ryouta asked.

"But how could she pull somethin' like dat off?!" Kazumi asked. "It ain't like we'd jus' join her!"

"You know how I said I'd punish you if you didn't guess a correct culprit?" Saemi asked.

"Yeah, but that was just a lie." Masaru said.

"Wrong! I only said I wouldn't _execute_ you!" Saemi said. "I never said that your punishment would be execution, now did I?"

"What would this punishment entail then?" Takara asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" Saemi said. She pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to everyone, revealing a diagram. "If you couldn't guess the culprit correctly, then once they were free to go you'd all be subjected to a process I like to call 'Attitude Readjustment'!" She pointed to a figure of Takara strapped to a chair and then to one of Takara with red eyes. "After the process was completed, you'd be completely loyal to Super High School Level Despair as the new members!" She then pointed to a figure of Kaito. "Meanwhile, the culprit would be let out of the resort as I promised, with all the resort memories and none of those nasty Hope's Peak ones. But they'd forever have to live with the idea that they'd left all their dear friends to die. Maybe they'd join willingly thinking they had nothing left to lose! But then again, I didn't care what happened to them."

"Then...you were planning on brainwashing us?!" Masaru asked.

"I guess you could call it that!" Saemi said. "It's not exactly mind control, but there's certainly some in there! After all this program can rewrite memories, so I was planning on tweaking with them to make you all think your lives were worse than they were! Add a touch of your lost memories, and just a pinch of influence, and ta-da! The new Super High School Level Despair ready to spread Junko Enoshima's will!"

"What about...the ones who were dead?" Kumiko asked.

"Wellll, I hadn't really thought that far ahead." Saemi admitted. "But their data is still here in the program, how else do you think I managed to set up that wake-up call? So whoever could be brought back would be even easier to make a new member of Despair!"

"'Could'? What's dat supposed ta mean?" Kazumi asked.

Saemi pulled out another diagram. She pointed at a figure of Chiyo hanging from a pipe. "Like my former comrades, some of our classmates are merely in a coma. It would take some time, but they could be brought back!" she explained, pointing at a living Chiyo. "But others aren't so lucky." She pointed over to a figure of a bloody Naomi. "Some of them took too much damage when they died, or were killed in a vital point like the brain or heart. They're essentially brain dead by this point! The only thing that could be done for them is to pull the plug!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Satoshi asked.

"A lot of things. Whatever sanity she once had vanished once she started talking to that madwoman." Shuuya said. "Your plan isn't going to work, they answered your question."

"Buuuut, I haven't accepted it as the answer yet!" Saemi said. "Besides, do they really want to answer the question and leave?"

"What are you talking about, of course we do!" Masaru said.

"At least listen to my offer first before you decide!" Saemi said.

"What kind of offer would you have for us?!" Ryouta asked.

"Well, here's my proposition." Saemi said, pulling out another diagram. "From this point, you have three options. Option number one, you're already familiar with." She pointed at a figure of Takara pointing at a figure of Saemi. "You submit your answer to me and pass the final test. I'll keep my word and let you all go, no strings attached." She pointed at a sad looking Takara and Shuuya. "However, I can't guarantee that you'll keep the memories of your time here. And even if you do, you'll still have your old ones plus your mental trauma. You'll also have to try and hope that the students who can be brought back will wake up."

"You have no way of knowing if their trauma will be sustained!" Shuuya said. "Your former partners were able to leave without reverting to despair!"

"But that was with a different version of the New World Program!" Saemi pointed out. "You can't say for sure if the same thing will happen here, now can you? Anyway, there's option number two." She pointed at a figure of Takara looking down with a happy Saemi standing next to her. "You answer incorrectly and allow me to make you into members of Super High School Level Despair, no resistance whatsoever!" She pointed to a Takara and Chiyo with red eyes. "I'll make sure you have none of those nasty Hope's Peak memories for sure, and I'll even bring back the friends I can as a bonus!

"And then there's option three, my proposal." She pointed at a figure of Takara pointing at Shuuya. "You choose not to answer, and instead give Shuuya to me. I'll let you stay here for as long as you like, and Shuuya will be executed for his crimes!"

"What crimes?" Shuuya asked.

"You stole from me, and that's against the vacation rules!" Saemi said. "You might not be a part of the Mutual Killing game, but that doesn't mean I can't execute you!"

"And why would we give him up to you just to stay here?" Kumiko said. "I wanna go home where I'm safe!"

"But Kumiko, the world isn't safe anymore." Saemi explained as she played with a strand of her hair. "Your homes are probably destroyed or looted by now, and your families are most likely dead. All your old friends are probably gone too. Your talents have no purpose in that world anymore. And why would you want to go home anyway? You'll only be shunned and ignored again. Wouldn't you rather stay here with your new friends?"

"So? Who cares? We can find our own way to survive!" Takara said.

"But by giving up Shuuya, this person you barely even know, I'll throw in a bonus as well!" Saemi said. "I'll give you all of our classmates back! They might not be able to live in the real world, but they can survive in here so long as their bodies are still hooked up! I'll probably still take one or two of them for Super High School Level Despair, but everyone else will be able to spend an eternal vacation with you. No mutual killing, no investigations, no trials, and no Monokuma. Just a paradise for all of you. Doesn't that sound peachy?"

"It sounds too good to be true." Masaru said. "Like seeing our classmates again is gonna convince us all to stay here."

"But I can give you more than that." Saemi insisted. "This place was intended to be a paradise for all of you, and I can make it one! I can give you anything you want and need to be happy here! And I do mean anything. I know fully well what you were doing in your room at night. Man, it's a good thing those rooms are soundproof!"

Masaru blushed. "Y-y-you saw that?!" he shouted. "Geez, there's a little thing called privacy you know!"

"My point is, I can give you exactly what you want, no questions aaaaaasked!" Saemi said. "And the best part is that none of you have to worry about anything bad ever happening to you again! Kazumi can be as open as she wants and no one will judge, Satoshi can spend all the time in the world trying to discover what he truly wants in life, Ryouta doesn't have to worry about anyone stabbing him in the back again, all of you can live happily ever after! Just don't submit your answer, and it's all yours!"

"Like hell are they gonna listen to you, Saemi!" Shuuya shouted.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Saemi said. "It looks to me like they're thinking it over!"

Shuuya turned to look at the other students. Just as she said, they looked like they were taking her claims seriously. "Everyone can come back?" Kazumi asked. "Ya ain't pullin' my leg or nothin' are ya?"

"You can really give me that?" Masaru said.

"I can see Chi-Chi..." Kumiko muttered.

"Don't listen to her!" Shuuya said. "She wants you to do this!"

"Forget it Shuuya, I know just what to say to get them playing their parts!" Saemi said with a clap of her hands. "I can even make sure Miyako comes back, wouldn't you like that?"

"You don't have the right to toy with her life like that!" Shuuya yelled.

Saemi sighed. "You're such a stick in the mud."

"He's right, we're not just gonna believe you!" Takara said. "Just because they're considering your stupid proposal doesn't mean they're gonna take it!"

"Ohhhh, I forgot just how stubborn you can be." Saemi said. "Tell me, do you really want to go back so badly? Even with all the chaos and destruction?"

"I don't care about that! The world can be fixed! Getting rid of you despair creeps is the first step towards that goal!" Takara said.

"But what about your old friends and family?" Saemi asked. "They're most likely all dead, you know. You'll never see them again!"

"I don't know that for sure! We managed to survive that hellhole, so I'm sure at least someone I know is still alive!" Takara countered.

"Surely there's something I can give you to make you stay here?" Saemi asked. "Your old classmates will all be back, and I'll be leaving you at peace! That must be good enough for you!"

"You couldn't get me to stay here even if you paid me!" Takara said.

"You'd just get all that trauma back!" Saemi said. "You've seen how much of a wreck you were. Do you really want to go back to that?"

"It'd be a lot better than whatever you want with us!" Takara said. "I'm not gonna listen to you!"

"Maybe you won't listen to me, but the others sure seem to be!" Saemi said. "And if they want to stay, then the majority rules!"

"Maybe it would be better." Satoshi said. "We'd be at peace here after all."

"We don't even know what this Future Foundation wants with us. For all we know they're trying to use us." Ryouta said.

"Don't listen to her!" Shuuya said. "She's just going to undo all the hard work the Future Foundation has made!"

"Just give it up, Takara." Saemi said. "This is the end of the line! Just join the others and don't answer! It's the best decision! There's no point in fighting it!"

Takara didn't know what to do. The others were actually listening to Saemi and Shuuya couldn't get them to listen. Was there really no point in fighting it? Had she truly lost? Her head began to pound. What could she do? Was there anything she _could_ do? Was this the end?

Her vision went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to leave things on such a cliffhanger, but the holidays are just around the corner and I'll be busy practically all next week. So even though we're at the finish line, I have to put a brief hiatus until the holidays pass. The trial will be over once I come back though, and then we'll be at the epilogue! So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you celebrate! Despair's Last Resort will be back in a little more than a week!


	55. Chapter 6 - So Long, Hotel Paradise - Class Trial IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I can't believe I got this done so quickly. I have no idea how that happened.

Perhaps it was better this way. Making a decision like this wasn't simple. But was taking the easy way out really worth it? Takara didn't know, and right now she didn't care. All she wanted was for this nightmare to end. But she didn't know what to do. How could she? She needed something, a sign maybe, to help her out of this mess. Anything to get her out of this darkness.

"Takara..." A voice called out to her. She looked forward, or at least where she assumed forward was, seeing a figure walking towards her. They stopped in front of her, revealing them to be...Miyako?

"What? How can you be here?" Takara asked. "Is this another one of Saemi's tricks?"

"I'm not a trick, Takara." Miyako said.

"Then how am I talking to you?" Takara asked.

"I can't really say why myself." Miyako said. "But it's not important anyway. I'm here to help you."

"How can you help me? You're _dead_." Takara said.

"I can't do anything physically to help you, but I can help you with your dilemma." Miyako said.

"But what can I do? Everyone's listening to Saemi's words, and I don't know if I can get through to them. And Saemi's words sound too good to be true.What the hell can I do?" Takara asked.

"You're really giving up that easily?" Miyako asked. "After fighting tooth and nail to survive this game and avoid execution, or brainwashing as I now know, you're ready to give up? You're Takara Tsukuda, Super High School Level Journalist, and you're stubborn as hell. It's not like you to just give up like this."

"I don't want to give up, but I'm stuck!" Takara said. "I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do to bring them back! She's luring them in with promises of bringing you back in the simulation!"

"...She can't do that though." Miyako said. "She's lying to you all. Unless she reprogrammed the entire New World Program, those of us who've died in here will stay dead so long as we're connected. They told me that before putting us in here."

"Then why would she lie like that?" Takara asked.

"Saemi doesn't want to lose, she's getting desperate now." Miyako answered. "She's telling you what she knows you want to hear. Whatever she truly has in mind could be worse than I thought."

"But how can I tell them that?" Takara asked. "They're not gonna believe me without evidence."

"You already have it though." Miyako said. "The interviews Makoto Naegi recorded with us has what you need."

"That won't be enough though." Takara said. "There's a chance we'll be taken out of the simulation and go back to who we were before entering. This was meant to heal us, and everything would be a waste."

"There was a possibility the other remnants of despair would go back to their old selves too." Miyako said. "But they all retained their memories and came out healed. This program may have been changed from the original, but I'm sure it'll be fine. And you'll all have friends there to help you through it. Not just each other, but all the other survivors from Hope's Peak."

"...But what about you and the others?" Takara asked. "Chiyo, Kaito, Hikaru, Ayame, Shigeru, Naomi, Shizuka, Minoru, Arata... Some of them we can't bring back."

"We can't save everyone, you of all people should know that." Miyako said. "Would you really have us remain in a state that isn't truly living? Worry about the ones you can save, they'll need you more than anyone. And let the rest of us pass on."

"But how do I convince them the real world is better than this fake one?" Takara asked.

"The same way you always do." Miyako said. "Show them the truth. That's why you became a journalist, remember? The world can be fixed, that's why you're here. Your hope carried you here, so use it to fight back. I know you can do it."

The darkness began to vanish, light coming in it's place. "...You're right." Takara said. "If there's anyone who can pull this off, it's me right?"

"Good luck Takara." Miyako said, the light turning brighter to the point where it was hard to see her. "Oh, tell Shuuya that it's not his fault I died. Knowing him, he'll blame himself for being unable to save me. And if you ever see Makoto or the others, tell them Chiaki's still here."

"Chiaki? Who's Chiaki?" Takara asked.

"Don't worry, they'll know what that means." Miyako said. The light became blinding as she appeared to vanish.

\----------------

"Wellllllllll, Takara? We're all waiting for your answer!" Saemi said. Takara blinked, wondering what just happened. Was that all in her head? Was she going crazy? She looked around, seeing that nothing had changed. It felt like barely any time had passed. Whatever she had just witnessed, she knew just what to say.

"You're lying."

Saemi blinked and tried to clean her ear with her finger. "...Sorry, I was too busy waiting for your line, what was that again?" she asked.

"I said, you're lying." Takara repeated. "You can't give us what you're offering. Whatever it is, it's some kind of trap."

"Takara, what are you talking about?" Masaru asked. "How do you know she's lying?"

"Exactly! Sure, you can claim I'm lying as much as you want, but you gotta be ready to back it up!" Saemi said.

"But I can back it up." Takara said. She looked through her bag and pulled out the DVD. "Go ahead and play this. Make sure you go to Miyako's interview."

"Karins, I don't think watching Mimiya agree to enter the virtual world will do that much good." Kumiko said.

"No, she's right. Play the damn thing." Shuuya glared at the playwright.

"Awwww, but it's so booooring!" Saemi said. "It's not entertaining at all!"

"Do it, now!" Takara shouted, slamming her fist against the stand.

"Ugh, fiiiiiine." Saemi said. She walked up to the desk and stuck the disc into an unseen DVD player. Grabbing a remote out, she fast forwarded throughout all the students interviews. Even though they couldn't hear it, the others could only stare in shock at the appearance of them and their classmates. They thought they were in a bad shape, but this was nothing like they thought. After seeing Saemi leave the room, Miyako was called in, causing the playwright to play the movie as normal.

Miyako, who had dark circles under her eyes and was breathing heavily, sat down in the chair. "Hello Miyako," The voice of Makoto Naegi spoke. "You remember who I am, right?"

Miyako looked forward. "You're Makoto Naegi," she said. "Super High School Level Good Luck, same as I am. Though you're from a different class than myself and the others. You're the one who saved us." It was strange to hear the usually quiet Miyako speak so much.

"Yep, that's right." Makoto said. "Now I've already spoken to the rest of your classmates, but I have a reason for speaking with you last. I've just informed them of something we call the Paradise Rehabilitation Project. The file is right there in the middle of the table." Miyako glanced down at the table, picking up the manila folder and reading its contents. "If this goes as planned, you and your friends will be back to the way you were before all this Super High School Level Despair happened. However, there's something special I need to ask of you in particular."

Miyako looked up. "And that is?" she asked.

"The others will be placed in the New World Program and will have all their memories from the day they walked into Hope's Peak suppressed." Makoto explained. "You on the other hand, will be keeping your memories."

"Is there a particular reason?" Miyako asked, setting the file down.

"You see, the last time we used this program there were some...difficulties." Makoto said. "Let's just say that they started dying in the simulation and we're still trying to see if we can bring them back. We don't need to get into the details. Anyway, this time we want someone in there who can keep things under control if something goes wrong. And considering the state of the others, we figured you would be best for the job."

"What exactly do you mean by 'something going wrong'? I'd like to know what that entails." Miyako said.

"Basically, if the original plan gets hijacked in some way, we need you to try and figure out a way to stop it." Makoto said. "We don't want anymore deaths inside that program. If something were to happen to the others while they're in there, well it might not be possible to bring them back. Not even in the program itself. Unless someone were to completely reprogram the whole thing, they'll remain dead so long as they're hooked up to the system."

"But they can be brought back, right?" Miyako asked.

There was a pause. "That all depends." Makoto answered. "While we've managed to bring back some of those other subjects, we've lost at least two or three of them. And only two of them have woken up. Their death wounds determine what'll happen to them. But that's only if the resort is hijacked. Otherwise, you don't have to worry about it."

"I'm guessing that's not all there is to it though." Miyako said.

"It's true I'm afraid." Makoto said. "No matter what happens, we'll need you to send reports to us about what's happening. You'll obviously have to keep this a secret from the rest of your friends."

"What if I can't handle things on my own?" Miyako asked.

"Don't worry, we plan on bringing someone else in there who will help you." Makoto said. "As long as the program isn't locked from the inside, you'll be fine. Now of course, this is all your choice. If you don't want to do it, we'll just send in that other person to do the job solo."

"...Did the others all agree to this?" Miyako said.

"They did." Makoto answered. "They desperately want to get rid of those memories. Some of them were begging."

"Well in that case, I can't let my friends go through this without my help." Miyako said. "I'll do it."

"That's excellent!" Makoto said. "You can return to your room for now, we need to put the finishing touches on the program. We'll be calling you when the time comes. Thank you for agreeing to this."

"It's not a problem." Miyako said. She stood up and walked away.

"Well, that went better than I thought." Makoto said, the screen going black shortly after.

"You see? Saemi can't bring them back!" Takara said. "She's lying to you out of desperation!"

"Den what was dat 'wake-up call' she gave us dis mornin'?" Kazumi asked.

"She made the docks disappear without trying!" Takara said. "And she has the data of our old friends, she could manipulate it to do whatever she wanted! Think about it, would they really want us to stay in here?!"

"For all you know, maybe they would if they knew the truth!" Ryouta said. "None of them except for Miyako remembered anything! If they knew any of this, I bet they'd wanna stay here in a heartbeat!"

"Actually, that's wrong!" Takara said. "Someone did remember aside from Miyako, someone who wanted us to leave. You couldn't have forgotten that, now could you?"

"Someone who remembered?" Kumiko said. "You're not talking about Shizu are you?"

"I am." Takara said. "She might've only had scattered memories, but I bet one of them was of what happened outside. And throughout it all, she still wanted us to escape!"

"Ya don' got no way of provin' dat though." Kazumi said.

"Who cares if I have any goddamn proof?!" Takara shouted. "Are you seriously going to try and tell me she would've wanted you to stay here and wallow in your own self-pity?! Because I don't believe that for a second!"

Kazumi's eyes went wide as she stood in silence. "And Kumiko, wouldn't Chiyo want you to leave too?!" Takara asked. "After everything we've been through, you really want her death to be for absolutely nothing?!"

Kumiko gasped. She looked down at the floor, unable to say anything. "Do any of you want to tell me that they'd want to stay here cut off from the outside world?!" Takara asked. "That we let their sacrifices and murders become worthless?! You'd all rather give up than face reality?! Are you that desperate that you'd listen to the one who caused us to kill each other in the first place?! The one who threatened us on multiple occasions?! The one who executed her former friends without a hint of remorse?! Because I'm not! I'll be damned if I let her beat me!"

No one in the room spoke, letting Takara's breath steady itself. "Awwwww, how cute! You think that by being defiant and stubborn you can get everyone on your side!" Saemi laughed. "There's no point in going back out there, you know! Everyone you know and love is probably dead!"

"But we don't know that for certain, now do we?" Takara said. "That's an even bigger reason for us to get out of here, so we can find out for certain!"

"The whoooooole world's in ruin!" Saemi said. "You'll be killed in the blink of an eye!"

"And yet we managed to survive for at least a year before the Future Foundation found us." Takara said. "I think we can manage."

"But what about the trauma you went through? It could come back if you leave!" Saemi said.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Takara said. "It's better than listening to you."

Saemi began to grind her teeth. "You can't trust Shuuya though! He could be lying about everything!" she said.

"He hasn't given any reason to do so." Takara said.

"Face it, Saemi. You've lost." Shuuya said.

"Actually, that's where you're wrong!" Saemi said with a smile. "I may not have you agreeing with me, but so long as the others say they wanna stay then that means majority rules! Maybe to teach you a lesson, I'll make you part of Super High School Level Despair after you watch Shuuya-baby get executed in the most despairing way ever!"

"...Who said anything about us staying here?" Masaru asked.

"...What." Saemi said.

"Takara's right, the others wouldn't want us to stay here." Masaru said. "They gave up their lives, and it wouldn't do any good for those losses to be meaningless! Whatever Takara decides to do, I'll be right there by her side!"

"Masaru..." Takara said.

"Chi-Chi was the bestest friend I've ever had..." Kumiko said. "I may miss her more than anything, but she'd want me to live! I'm gonna do the best I can for Chi-Chi's sake and stand by all my new friends!"

"You really think I'm gonna stay here without any objections?" Satoshi asked, a hand behind his head. "Like I'm gonna let that happen! With Takara and the others by my side, I know we can overcome anything! And that's not just my optimism talking!"

"...Shizuka'd be pretty mad if I didn' get da fuck outta here. She'd chew me out fer it." Kazumi said. "Aw fuck it, I ain't goin' down without a motherfuckin' fight! Dat ain't how I do shit anyway!"

Ryouta looked over from side to side, seeing everyone else finding strength. "I'm not able to trust people easily," he said. "But I've learned that these people are willing to stick by each other and themselves. Even someone like me. So I'm willing to put my faith in them! Besides, you'll probably stab us in the back when we're not looking!"

"What...the hell is this?!" Saemi shouted as she pulled her hair. "You should all be broken from watching everyone kill each other! How the fuck can your hope be more powerful than my despair?!"

"Hope has nothing to do with it." Takara said with a smirk. "We're just resilient. Our friends gave us a reason to keep going, and together we have enough determination to keep us going! It's not a matter of hope or despair, Saemi. It's about our willingness to survive!"

"This is impossible! You can't just change the script and rewrite the ending!" Saemi shouted.

"It's like Shuuya said, it's over. You've lost." Takara said. "And with that, we submit our final answer! You, the mastermind, wanted us to become the new Super High School Level Despair! And that completes your final test!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Saemi screamed. The screen hanging above the desk showed an image of Saemi's face as applause and cheering echoed throughout the room. The playwright fell to her knees, a blank expression on her face. It was over. She failed. "Forgive me, Lady Junko."

Shuuya walked towards her, grabbing her by the waistcoat and pulling her off the floor. He looked straight at her with no mercy in his eyes. "Before I have the pleasure of killing you, you're going to answer my questions. Got it?" he snarled. Saemi just nodded her head. "Good. Now tell me why you did all this."

"Come on Shuuya, you already know the answer to that!" Saemi said.

"No, not why you put them through this killing game. Why did you follow Junko Enoshima?" Shuuya asked, realizing he needed to be more specific.

"Ohhh, that." Saemi said. "That's easy! I followed her because she saw worth in me! You and I both know that everyone in our class had shitty lives, and I'm no different. All my life I've been denied of the things I worked so hard to reach for! What good was coming up with plays if I couldn't even act in them? What purpose was there in working for the theater if all the credit went to the actors? Even when I came to Hope's Peak I found that I wasn't even good enough for anyone's time! They all said they were my friends, but they preferred the company of others over me! And once all those killings began to happen, I didn't want to be one of them.

"But then she came to me, told me how she was the only one who appreciated my skills, told me how I was important to her goals! She had a way with words, you know, and so I decided that her cause was better than worrying over being killed or watching people I liked getting killed. Who cares if the world goes to hell in the process! She was going to remake the world in her glorious image! She didn't spread despair because it was fun, she did it out of love! She wanted the whole world to share that feeling with her, and she gave it to us because she cared! Surely you can understand that?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't." Shuuya said, his hold on the playwright getting stronger. "Now, why did you pick them for this ridiculous scheme of yours?"

"Gosh, you're so intimidating when you wanna be, Shuuya! That's what I love about you!" Saemi said.

Shuuya slammed her onto the floor. " _Answer the damn question._ " he said.

"Alright, alright! Get me off the floor first though!" Saemi said. Shuuya picked her up and held her above the ground. "That's another simple answer. Part of it's because they were just the most easily accessible! The other part is that even after everything we've been through, I still love you guys! You're all important to me, so I figured if I were reviving Super High School Level Despair then I might as well use those who I actually liked!"

"Just what were you going to do once you and your new followers came out of the simulation?" Shuuya asked, a hidden blade coming out of his sleeve. "You would've been surrounded by members of the Future Foundation."

"I was able to fool them before, who says I couldn't do it again?" Saemi asked. "Honestly Shuuya, pay attention!"

"Finally, just what would you have done if they agreed to your proposition? Takara proved that you were full of shit." Shuuya said. "So what was your real plan?"

"Attitude Readjustment of course!" Saemi said. "I'd execute you and have them watch, make them think they were returning back to the resort, and then convince them that the Future Foundation wanted to take their new paradise away from them! They may not be the followers I wanted, but so long as they listened to me and got the job done it wouldn't matter!"

"You're horrible!" Kumiko said. "How could you be this way?!"

"Junko Enoshima completely changed her." Shuuya said. "She was annoying before, but Junko's influence made her worse. All the members of Super High School Level Despair were like that, even those we were close to no matter how much some of us wanted to believe otherwise."

"She did us a favor!" Saemi said. "Not that you'd wanna understand, you're too twisted with hope."

"I've had enough of you!" Shuuya said. "I'm going to do what I should've done a long time ago!" He pulled out a dagger and pointed it at the playwright. "This is for Miyako, you bitch!"

"Shuuya, stop!" Takara shouted. She had ran over behind him and was holding the arm with the knife. "Killing her won't make you any better than she is."

"Takara, I'm an assassin! It's my job to eliminate those who pose a threat to the Future Foundation and their goals!" Shuuya said. "I'm only doing what I've been told to."

"Are you sure? It sounds to me like you're doing it out of revenge!" Takara said. "Would Miyako really want that?"

It was hard for her to tell, but Takara thought she saw a tear fall down his cheek. "...Regardless of that, there's no other choice! Saemi is too dangerous to keep alive. She can't be saved!"

"We don't have to save her!" Takara said. "There are other ways to deal with her, but this isn't it. You're letting your own judgement become clouded. Think about this, dammit!"

Shuuya didn't respond. After a moment of silence, he dropped the dagger and threw Saemi to the ground. "She lives...for now." he said, turning away from her and facing Takara. "Once we leave the simulation, I'm talking to my superiors to discuss the proper way to get rid of her."

"I don't think so!" Saemi said. The two looked to see her standing and holding a red button. The same button Monokuma hit before an execution. "You really should've let him kill me, because now I'm gonna die my way! Or am I? Even if despair's last resort has failed, that doesn't mean you've won just yet! After all, Junko still has a successor!" She laughed in the sick way Monokuma did. "Ahhhh, I'm going to experience the despair of death! I wonder if it's as wonderful as she made it out to be!"

"Wait, ya mean yer seriously gonna..." Kazumi said.

"That's right! I'm gonna execute myself!" Saemi said. She cleared her throat and attempted to speak in a voice like Monokuma's. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Super High School Level Playwright!"

"She's actually going to do this?!" Masaru said.

"It looks like it." Satoshi said.

"LET'S GIVE IT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT!" Saemi shouted. "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" She slammed the button with her fist.

**_Saemi Sasagawa has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!_ **

**Curtain Call**

The seven students found themselves in front of a large stage, sitting in comfortable seats. The curtains were still shut. Visions of Kaito's execution flashed through Takara's head as she began to wonder just what this would entail. The curtains opened and cheering could be heard as Saemi stood on the stage, bowing for the "audience". As she finished bowing, a minecart appeared. She proudly took a seat in it and pulled a lever, sending herself flying forward. Twists and turns littered the minetrack, and Takara began to wonder if this really was Kaito's execution again. That is until Saemi crashed through a large rock instead of stopping at it, and found herself going through a football field.

She taunted the "players" on the field, causing them to start kicking the balls at her. Bruises were being left behind, but she didn't care. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. Just how far gone was this girl?! The minecart barreled through the goal net and left the stadium, Having her go through a firing squad. They shot at her, covering her in paint as she just laughed at them. Takara began to understand just what she was doing. This was meant to be the most over-dramatic execution yet, combining aspects from the previous ones. The minecart broke through a wall and began to drive on a large strip of fabric. The needle of a giant sewing machine tried to hit her, but missed every time.

After a few attempts, the needle hit the minecart and sent Saemi flying. She landed back on the stage, bruised and spotted with paint but alive. A noose began to fall from the top of the stage. As she grabbed it, the stage itself fell apart to reveal a gallows. With a disturbing grin, she slipped her neck into the noose and prepared herself for the end. But before she had the chance to hang, her smile turned into a frown as she looked down at her chest. A blade was thrust into where her heart was. This wasn't right, she didn't plan this at all! So how did it get there? Out of nowhere, Shuuya was standing in front of her. He took the blade and shoved it even further in, causing her to cough up blood. His work done, Shuuya vanished as she was left there to die. Blood dripping out of her chest and mouth, she began to slump over when the gallows finally sent her down. Showing her already dead body hanging for all to see as something dropped from her body.

The show was finally over.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't let her have the last laugh." Shuuya said, his eyes closed and his head turned away. "She obviously wanted to die this way. She'd be able to come back if I didn't do it. And the thing is, if she wanted to die like that so badly then it didn't mean anything good for us."

"So that's it?" Ryouta asked, sweat beading down his face. "It's all over now?"

"Yes, it is." Shuuya said.

"What'd she drop there?" Kumiko asked.

Masaru walked over to the body, picking up the small object and looking over it. "It's another button." he said. "And it looks like it'll let us out."

"How can you tell?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, it says 'Emergency Escape' on it." Masaru said.

"So we use dis little thing ta get out?" Kazumi asked.

"I wouldn't risk it." Shuuya suggested. "That button was originally supposed to be Miyako's. It was only to be used in case things went so bad that things couldn't be fixed from inside the program. If Saemi had it, then she probably found a way to use it for her own goals."

"In that case, what happens now?" Kumiko asked. "How do we get out of here?"

"I have contact with a member of the Future Foundation in charge of the project. Her name's Aoi Asahina." Shuuya said. "I just need to send the word, and we'll be woken up. You'll have all the memories of this place, and your old memories will come back too."

"Well, I guess this is it then." Takara said. "Even though this place sucked, I'm glad I came here."

"Huh? How so?" Satoshi asked.

"Because I think we all changed for the better." Takara said. "I may not remember what we were all like before this mess, but something in my heart just tells me that we're stronger now than we were before."

"Ain't dere a sayin' dat says whateva' doesn' kill ya makes ya stronger?" Kazumi asked.

"Looks like we're living proof of that." Masaru said.

"Yeah. I'm glad I met you guys." Ryouta said, making a genuine smile. "And when we get back, we're gonna save our friends."

"Yeah! Ryose is right!" Kumiko said. "The final boss isn't defeated just yet! And we need all the help we can get to bring them back! 'Cause it's gonna take a lot more than a Phoenix Down to do the trick!"

"Alright then, you guys all ready to go back?" Shuuya asked.

"Yeah, we're ready." Takara said.

Shuuya pulled out what looked like a wristwatch and pushed a button. The voice of a young woman could be heard from it. "Hey Shuuya! It's been a while! What's the status in there?"

"Saemi Sasagawa has been neutralized." Shuuya responded. "I'm afraid I had to kill her though, but there just wasn't any other choice. Anyway, it's safe to end the program. The students want to wake up."

"Roger that! You'll be out of there in a jiffy!" The woman responded. "Just give me a sec!"

A moment later, the world around them began to vanish. Small blocks turned into bright patches of light as the trial room turned into what felt like a distant memory. Takara looked at her friends standing beside her. They were all smiling, ready to greet the real world. As her vision became engulfed in light, she saw Masaru hold his hand out towards her. She grabbed hold of it.

"I'll see you all on the other side."

**7 STUDENTS SURVIVED**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done with the main story, just one more part to go! It's gonna be a while until the epilogue comes out though, but stay tuned okay?


	56. Epilogue - Dawn Of A New Summer

"..."

"..y"

"Ca.....ear me?"

"...ake up."

"Please, you need to wake up."

Takara heard a voice calling out to her as she tried to summon the strength to get up. Was she back in the real world? She slowly opened her eyes, finding two people looking down at her. It has hard to tell who they were thanks to the bright light shining in her eyes. All she could tell was that one of them was a boy and the other was a girl. Her head felt light as she tried to sit up. The two figures took hold of her arms, which felt thinner from the way they were grasping her, and tried to help her up. "Woah there, take it easy!" The girl said. "You've been in there for a long time, it's gonna take you a little while to get used to moving again. Don't try to stand too quickly and take things a little slow, okay?"

"Um, sure. I got it." Takara said, her thoughts jumbled. Not only was she trying to deal with moving, but her memories were all over the place. The events in the resort were still fresh in her mind, but there was also the ones she was getting back. Hope's Peak Academy, the Most Despair Inducing Incident, the School Life of Mutual Killing, it all felt like it was some kind of nightmare. But so did the events in the resort. Did all of that really happen? She needed to get her thoughts together.

"The memories are all coming back at once, aren't they?" The boy, who from the sound of his voice seemed to be Satoshi, asked. "The rest of us experienced the same kind of thing. Just give it a moment and everything will be sorted out."

"We were worried you weren't going to wake up." The girl said. Her vision adjusting to the light, Takara could now see what she looked like. She was slightly older than her, wearing a black skirt and coat with a matching tie and heels. Her skin was tanned, or at least looked like it was, and her brown hair was done up in a strange ponytail facing upwards. The name "Aoi" flashed through Takara's head. "The others woke up around the same time, but you just wouldn't budge!"

"The others?" Takara said. "They're alright?"

"We're a bit weak, but otherwise we're just fine, Kara-chan." Satoshi said. She turned to look at him, seeing that he also got thinner. Not only that, his hair was messier than normal and his skin was pale as could be. It both shocked her and felt natural, most likely due to the sets of memories. "They want us to eat and get our strength back before we do anything. We were stuck in the simulation for almost a month after all."

"...How long was I out for?" Takara asked.

"It's only been a couple days since I brought you out." Aoi said. "Don't worry, you didn't miss anything!"

"Where's everyone else?" Takara asked.

"They're in the other room getting something to eat." Satoshi said. "I was one of the first to wake up, so I came to make sure you were okay. Masaru wanted to be here, but he just woke up recently and doesn't have the strength so I told him I'd bring you over."

"First thing's first though, we have to do a check-up and make sure she can walk on her own again!" Aoi said. "Try standing up, Takara." The journalist slowly lifted her legs out of the pod she had been sitting in. A slight shiver went through her body as her feet touched the cold floor, prompting Aoi to grab a pair of slippers for her. Once her feet were slipped inside, she tried to stand up. Her movements felt wobbly and she felt like she would fall if she wasn't careful. She managed to steady herself to the point where she could stand up straight. "Good! You're already showing some quick progress!" Aoi said with a smile. "You'll be back with the others in no time!"

"That's good." Takara said. She looked around the room, seeing similar pods to the one she had been in. A few of them were already opened and empty, though there were a number of closed ones. Their friends were still in there. They still had a job to do. "So what now?"

"We need to check your vitals just in case something might've happened." Aoi said. "It'll be like a doctor appointment basically. Just try to follow me, or if you need help getting there I can keep hold onto you."

"Thanks but, I'd rather try it on my own for now." Takara said.

"Still stubborn as always I see." Satoshi said with a laugh.

"Hey, my stubborness is what saved you, don't forget that!" Takara said. "Oh yeah! Aoi, there's something I need to tell you."

"Hm, what is it?" Aoi asked.

"Well, I don't get what it means, but something about a Chiaki." Takara said. "They're still in the program I guess. You know what that means?"

Aoi stopped where she stood. "...I see." she said. "Thank you for letting me know."

"I'm sorry, is this important or something?" Takara asked.

"You could say that..." Aoi said. "Anyway, let's get that check-up done and out of the way, shall we?"

\----------------------------

Masaru could only stare at the plate of food in front of him as he tapped his finger against the table. Everyone else was helping themselves to the large meal being provided for them. Well, except for Shuuya; he was just sitting there in silence. Masaru just couldn't help but worry. What if Takara didn't wake up? What if she didn't remember the resort? The possibilities just made him sigh.

"Oi, ya gonna eat dat?" Masaru turned to look at Kazumi, who was pointing at his plate of food with her fork. It felt so strange to see her with her natural black hair color. "Cuz if ya ain't, den I'll put it ta good use."

"You've eaten enough food already!" Ryouta said, pointing at her with his skinny arm. "In case you haven't noticed, the rest of us need to eat too!"

"Ah chill out, Ryose!" Kumiko said as she stuffed a roll into her mouth. "Kazuzu's jus' super hungry like we all are!"

"That doesn't mean she has to eat someone else's food though." Ryouta said.

"Sorry guys, my mind is elsewhere right now." Masaru said.

"If it's Tsukuda yer worried 'bout, den relax." Kazumi said. "She'll be jus' fine and we all know it."

"As it just so happens, I feel great!" Everyone looked to the entrance and saw Takara standing there, Satoshi right behind her.

"I got her!" Satoshi said with a large grin.

"Karinssssss!" Kumiko shouted, jumping out of her seat. She ran over to Takara and glomped her, nearly causing the journalist to fall over. "You woke up!"

"It's good to see you too, Kumiko..." Takara said.

Everyone got up from their seat and walked over to her. It all felt so strange, it was like meeting someone from a dream. Yet it also felt like she was reunited with her best friends after a long time. "You feeling alright?" Ryouta asked.

"Yeah, they said I'm good." Takara said.

"Do ya remember everythin'?" Kazumi asked.

"Oh yeah, you bet I do." Takara said.

"Welcome back, Takara." Shuuya said. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Takara said.

"Well, now that we're all up and running, what's gonna happen next?" Masaru asked.

"You'll need your strength to return, first of all." Shuuya said. "So you'll have to stay here until you're fit. Then there's the other students. Just as Saemi said, we can't bring some of them back. But they're going to retrieve the ones they can. They're keeping touch with the Jabberwock survivors to see if they can help. After all, a few of them were already brought back."

"Are they gonna send someone over?" Satoshi asked.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask them yourselves." Shuuya said. "Once the others start waking up, they'll have to get their strength back as well. And from there, well, I'm sure the Future Foundation will have something for you guys to do. That is if you want to help."

"Ya make it sound like yer not gonna be involved." Kazumi said.

"No, I've done all I can do here." Shuuya said. "I'm needed elsewhere. Japan might be rising out of the ashes, but the rest of the world still has a way to go. Despair is still rampant through other countries, and those who are keeping it alive must be stopped."

"So you're leaving?" Kumiko asked. "We're never gonna see you again?"

"I'm not leaving right away." Shuuya said. "I might not have been in there as long as you, but my body isn't in the same shape it was when I entered. I'll lend whatever help I can manage in the meantime. Though I doubt you'll need it. You managed to survive without me after all."

"Well, now that Kara-chan is here she should probably get some food." Satoshi said.

"Good idea. She must be hungry after all." Ryouta said. The group prepared to return to their table, but Takara noticed Shuuya walking out of the room.

"Hold on a second guys, I'll be back in a sec." she said, heading out after him. "Shuuya, wait! There's something I need to tell you!"

The assassin stopped and turned to face her. "If it's thanks, you don't need to give me any. I was just doing my job." he said, turning back and beginning to walk forward.

"No, it's not that." Takara said. "It isn't your fault Miyako died."

Shuuya froze. He looked over at her, the look on his face indicating that she struck a nerve. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't need to feel guilty about being unable to save her." Takara clarified. "She made the choice to save us in exchange for her own life. She wanted to help us, and she did just that. So don't go beating yourself up over it, alright? I don't think she'd like that after all."

Shuuya looked away. Takara thought she heard him mutter "Dammit Miyako..." under his breath, but it was hard to tell. "...I'll try to remember that." he said, walking away.

Takara sighed. "Sorry Miyako, I tried." she said as she returned to the others.

\----------------------------------------------

"There you are!" Satoshi said as he walked outside. "We've been looking all over for you! You weren't in your room, so we wondered if you were having nightmares too."

Takara turned around to stare at the archaeologist. "No, not tonight." she said. "But some of you guys are?"

"Yep. Guess some of us are still dealing with the trauma of the resort and what came before." Satoshi said. "We're still better off than we were before though!"

Takara smiled. "Yeah, at least there's that. But why were you looking for me? Nothing really happens around here you know." she said.

"Well something did. Shuuya's gone it seems." Satoshi said. "Guess he left when no one was paying attention or something."

"This is Shuuya you're talking about. The dude vanishes into thin air all the time." Takara said.

"Good point." Satoshi said. "So what're you doing out here anyway?"

"I needed some fresh air, I've been cooped up in the building for days now. Besides, it's not every day you get to watch the sunrise." Takara said.

Satoshi walked over to her and looked forward. "That's true. You don't really get to see it that often." he said.

"Hey now, don't think you're gonna keep us out of the loop!" Takara and Satoshi looked to the entrance and saw Masaru with their remaining classmates. The group walked over and looked ahead.

"Ya gotta love da feelin' of da sun on yer skin." Kazumi said. "'Specially since we've been inside dis whole time."

"It's not bad, I guess." Ryouta said.

"Hey guys, once we're done with all this stuff and the world's back to normal, what're you planning on doing?" Kumiko asked, causing everyone to stand and think. "I'm gonna try to go professional with my work! The life of a mangaka is hard and tedious, but with my super amazing energy I think I can handle it!"

"I'm gonna try ta find my family." Kazumi said. "Den I'm gonna go back inta show biz an' get us a big-ass fancy house! Gotta go big or go home, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Hell if I know." Ryouta said. "I never had any plans for the future aside from keeping the family business alive. But since the shop's probably torn apart, I could always try to start from the ground up. Or maybe I'll go into further plant studies to help make medicine and stuff. Continue the work my 'rival' was doing before her death." He chuckled slightly from using the term rival.

"I'll start up a restaurant of course!" Masaru said with a grin. "And you guys will always get special discounts!"

"I'm stil not sure what I want to do yet." Satoshi admitted. "But who knows, maybe this'll help me figure out what I want in life."

"I'll keep doing what I always do, spreading the truth to the world." Takara said. "I've decided to look towards the future. Staying in the past never did me much good anyway. We have to move forward into the future, together."

"And we'll have some of our friends back to help us!" Kumiko added.

"Exactly." Takara said. "We'll be here to help them with everything. If we came out fine, then surely the others will too."

"An' the ones dat are perma-dead can jus' rest easy now." Kazumi said. "Dey're in a betta place with friends an' family or whateva' da fuck ya wanna think."

"You know, one of these days we should go on a real vacation." Satoshi said. "We can go to some fancy hotel or something!"

"After everything we went through, I think I'm done with vacations." Ryouta said. "And I know I'm not the only one."

"Whatever we decide to do, we'll stick through to the end." Masaru said.

"Yeah..." Kazumi said. The group looked out ahead at the rising sun, taking in its beauty as it reflected of the water's edge. This was a new day for them. Even when the world was fixed, they knew nothing would ever be the same for them again. But they were beacons of hope whether they liked it or not. With the help of the other remaining students, they'd change the world.

"There you are!" The group turned to see Aoi standing in the doorway of the entrance. "Come back inside! There's been a major update that you have to know about!"

Not asking another question, the students began to rush inside. Well, almost all of them. Takara stayed outside and looked over the horizon. She saw a boat in the distance heading towards them. She had a feeling that whatever that boat held would change things for them. At least that's what her suspicions seemed to gather.

"Takara, you coming or what?" Masaru called from the door.

Takar snapped out of her thoughts and looked towards him. "Sorry, I need a moment!" she said. "I'll be right there!"

Masaru closed the door and went inside. Takara sighed. Some things never changed. She sat down on the ground and pulled out a beat-up journal and a pencil. Finding a clean page, she went to work on writing the story of Class 79. After all, she said she was dedicated to spreading the truth, and she was committed to stick to that. Whatever Aoi had to say could wait, she needed to get started on this story. And she knew just how to start it.

_Hope's Peak Academy, the most prestigious school in all of Japan. Only a select few were invited to attend, for there are no entrance exams. It is a school that, should one accept their invitation, allowed a person great success in life. Getting into a university would be no problem, and finding a career would be simple. The school was a source of hope for the country, and any high school student would dream of being allowed to attend. And as fortune would have it, that dream was coming true for one girl..._

**The End**

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**RESORT MODE UNLOCKED**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting here for the past ten minutes trying to think of what to say, only to find the words won't come. I'd like to thank everyone for reading through this grand project I've been undertaking for the past seven months. I'm kind of sad that this is all over, but then again, it's not quite over just yet. I'll make a post on my tumblr (prophet-0f-fluff) containing my final thoughts and where I'm gonna go from here. I hope you'll all stick with me for what lies ahead!


	57. Resort Mode I - Chiyo, Kaito, Hikaru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so some information on why this took so long, and how these chapters are gonna play out.
> 
> I took a break for a while in order to get some other fics I put aside finished. Once I got some of them done, I started work on this. But I got stuck for a while as I wasn't sure if I was going to write the chapters in paragraph or script form, and tumblr didn't help when I asked. After taking some time to think about it and talking to some friends, I decided to settle on this situation. I'd write the chapters in script format first so I could get them out. Then once I have the time and can figure it out, I'll rewrite them in paragraph format.
> 
> As for how the chapters are gonna work, they'll be three students per chapter. And I'm just writing the FTE's I come up with. These aren't the only ones the characters would have. If I come up with any more ideas, I'll add them later. But for now, this is what I could come up with.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chiyo: Good afternoon, Ms. Tsukuda. How are you on this fine day?

Takara: I'm doing alright. Thanks for asking.

Chiyo: Is there something I can help you with?

Takara: Actually, I do have a question for you.

Chiyo: Oh? Well feel free to ask.

Takara: Well, what kind of stuff did you do at your family shrine? You haven't talked much about it.

Chiyo: Hm? What I do at the shrine? Why do you ask?

Takara: Because I'm curious. What other reason would I have to ask?

Chiyo: That is a fair point. Well, I tend to perform the duties of a miko. I offer the omikuji fortunes, perform ceremonial dances, and of course speak on behalf of the deceased.

Takara: I didn't think that was a miko power.

Chiyo: Oh but it is. There are miko who perform these tasks, such as myself. I merely happen to take my ability farther than most and have made it into a task performed outside of the shrine.

Takara: How does that work exactly? I mean, can you speak with a ghost at any time or something?

Chiyo: Oh no, it does not work like that. In order to talk with a spirit, there are many factors to be taken into consideration. It is a very complicated process that can take years to master.

Takara: Are you trying to avoid my question?

Chiyo: Oh no, though I can see why you would ask that. There are many who are skeptic about the existence of ghosts, along with those who can not tell whether a medium is the real thing or a sham. But I can assure you, just because you cannot see spirits does not mean they are not here.

Takara: Is there any way you can prove that?

Chiyo: Not at this moment. I do not sense any lingering spirits here, so I cannot show you myself.

Takara: So what, you're saying we'd have to wait for a murder to happen?

Chiyo: Hmmm, that is not what I had in mind. However, you do not have a bad idea. If I prepare for the possibility, then perhaps my abilities will be most useful should a murder occur and the spirit of a classmate will not move on. I could even try to get some information about their killer.

Takara: That is if you're the real deal.

Chiyo: I suppose we shall have to wait and see.

\-------------------------

Chiyo: .........

Takara: You alright there, Chiyo? You seem pretty down.

Chiyo: Hm? Oh, forgive me, Ms. Tsukuda. My mind was elsewhere. With each passing day, it feels as if the aura of death draws ever closer. It greatly worries me.

Takara: I know what you mean, I think the tension's starting to get to us. One wrong move and someone will snap.

Chiyo: That is not what I meant.

Takara: Huh? What do you mean?

Chiyo: ....Ms. Tsukuda, would you promise me something?

Takara: What do you mean?

Chiyo: ....If something happens to me, would you look after Kumiko for me? I know she is hyperactive and intrusive, and while she is not willing to admit it she greatly longs for companionship. Aside from myself and someone else I have never met, she has had trouble making friends. But even though she is loud and difficult to deal with, Kumiko is a kind and caring person. She means well, she just does not know how to express herself in the correct manner.

Takara: Woah, hold up! You're acting as if you know you're gonna die or something!

Chiyo: As far as I am aware, it is a likely possibility. No matter how low the odds might be, I am concerned for Kumiko and her well being.

Takara: You say that as if she'll shut down.

Chiyo: She most likely would. Kumiko regards me as her closest friend, and her emotions tend to go all over the place. If I am found dead, I do not imagine she will take it well.

Takara: Anyway, why're you asking me? Wouldn't it be a better idea to ask someone like, I dunno, Shizuka?

Chiyo: Because I have trust in you. Being near you fills me with the idea that some of us will make it out of here.

Takara: I thought you couldn't tell which of us were gonna die or not.

Chiyo: That still holds true, however I am not basing this on my spiritual abilities. I am basing this on the time we have spent together. You seem like the type of person who will not give up no matter what is thrown at them. I do not believe Mr. Monokuma will easily persuade you with his motives either.

Takara: ......You really think so?

Chiyo: Indeed. That is why I ask that you be there for Kumiko if I do not make it. I want to be safe with the knowledge that she will be alright should I be killed. I know she does not leave the best first impression, but she has a big heart. So will you promise me that you will help her through this?

Takara: ...Sure. I can't guarantee that I'll be as good of a friend as you are, but I'll try the best I can.

Chiyo: Thank you very much, Ms. Tsukuda.

Takara: But it's not gonna come to that! We'll all make it through this, we can't let Monokuma get to us.

Chiyo: Your enthusiasm and determination is comforting, even if I do not foresee our complete survival.

Takara: You really have to stop talking like that. You sound like you've lost hope already.

Chiyo: Oh no, I have yet to lose faith. I simply cannot tell myself the opposite of what my senses tell me.

Takara: I don't think I'll ever understand you fully.

Chiyo: It is alright, I understood the fact that you were skeptical back on the first day. So long as we have respect for one another, I do not mind.

\----------------------------------

Kaito: Say Takara, what's your favorite kind of animation?

Takara: Huh? Favorite kind of animation? What do you mean?

Kaito: Oh come on, there has to be a type you prefer! So what is it? Hand-drawn? Computer generated? Stop-motion?

Takara: Ummmm... Heheheh, I actually don't watch that much animation, so I can't say.

Kaito: What?! But that's insane! Animation is an amazing art form! You're missing out!

Takara: Art form? What do you mean?

Kaito: How _dare_ you! Animation is severely overlooked for it's true beauty, but I thought you would've appreciated it!

Takara: Ahhh, sorry! I just prefer the news and stuff! I don't really watch movies in general!

Kaito: You don't?! Takara, you're missing out! One of these days, I'm gonna have to show you the classics! I got a collection and just so happened to bring them with me! Good thing this place has DVD players!

Takara: Do I have to sit through this?

Kaito: Of course! I can't sit by and leave someone so uneducated over animation! You're in luck, I recently got a hold of Tim Burton's best animated works!

Takara: Oh...how lucky for me...

Kaito: Don't worry, I'm not treating this as a date or anything. It's all for the sake of educating you in the arts.

Takara: That wasn't my concern. ...Just how long will this last anyway?

Kaito: Well, I have a lot of movies. So um, it could take a while.

\-----------------------------

Kaito: Takara, just the person I was looking for!

Takara: Huh? Why do you need me?

Kaito: I need someone to bounce ideas off of. After all, I want to join the ranks of the greats! But the only way I can do that is if I have a brilliant idea!

Takara: Sorry Kaito, I don't think I'd be of much help. I'm not a super creative person. You'd be better off going to Kumiko or Shizuka, why don't you ask them?

Kaito: I don't think Kazumi will let me anywhere near her after my flirting with her. And Kumiko...well...she's too wild for me to talk to.

Takara: Still though, I'm not really the person you should be going to for this.

Kaito: But it has to be you! It just has to be!

Takara: But why? What's so special about me?!

Kaito: Because...because...........the main character I have in mind is based on you......

Takara: ...Huh?

Kaito: Come on, the Super High School Level Journalist would be a great source of inspiration. People would go nuts over the adventures of a journalist-type character. But I don't know much about journalism, so I was hoping that I could ask you for ideas..... Sorry, it's a stupid idea, isn't it?

Takara: You really want to base a character after me? Wow Kaito, that's really flattering.

Kaito: ...What was that?

Takara: I didn't think I'd really be a good inspiration to anyone. It's a nice gesture. I'd be happy to help you out with it.

Kaito: You mean, you don't think my idea is ridiculous or anything? It isn't stupid?

Takara: Why would I think that? It's an amazing idea!

Kaito: It's just that usually I'm told my ideas are stupid. That they won't be worth anything.

Takara: What?! That's ridiculous, why would you believe that?!

Kaito: ....It's not like I can just ignore it, okay?

Takara: You shouldn't let those words get to you, you're the Super High School Level Animator after all! You got here by your own merits, that proves them wrong by itself.

Kaito: I appreciate you trying to help, but it's not really something you can do anything about.

Takara: How so?

Kaito: It's nothing you have to worry about. Seriously. I can handle this on my own.

Takara: ...Are you sure about that?

Kaito: Really, don't bother yourself with it! It's a personal issue! There's no need to get you wrapped up in my personal business. Let's just drop the subject, we got concepts to sort through, after all!

\--------------------------------

Kaito: So what's the plan today? We gonna go over some more concepts?

Takara: Actually, I was hoping I could learn a little more about yourself. Like how you got into animation and everything.

Kaito: Woah, you're holding an interview? Damn, I didn't think that'd happen until I made it big! But hey, I'll do an interview just for you!

Takara: I wouldn't call it an interview, per se.

Kaito: Aw come on, I'm trying to have fun with this.

Takara: Well anyway, what exactly got you into animation?

Kaito: Huh? You really want to know that?

Takara: Well yeah, of course I do.

Kaito: Oh, well, I was just a kid you see. I didn't have a ton of friends, while my brothers were usually busy, so I didn't have many people to hang out with. So i ended up watching TV and movies a lot. It was always the animated stuff that got my attention. Maybe it's because I was a kid, but it was genuinely interesting.

Takara: Do tell.

Kaito: Over time, I got inspired. I wanted to give it a shot myself. I improved my drawing skills and studied animation. I started making my own short films, even though I was told they wouldn't amount to anything. But I proved them wrong! I have a successful career going for me! But um, I still don't have many friends.

Takara: Well now's your chance to make some. You and Arata seem to be getting along well, and I bet Minoru would be willing to talk to you.

Kaito: Yeah, I guess you're right. The three of us could make quite a trio! I think I'm gonna talk to Minoru and see what's up with him! You don't mind if this interview is cut short, do you?

Takara: No, not at all.

Kaito: Sweet! See ya later then!

\--------------------------------------

Takara: Kaito, you okay? You look kinda down.

Kaito: Huh? Oh, hey Takara. I didn't see you there...

Takara: I've never seen you so down, is something bothering you?

Kaito: No, no, I'm fine.

Takara: You don't look fine. What's going on?

Kaito: Takara, I know we're friends and all, but this is really something you don't need to concern yourself with.

Takara: Look Kaito, either you can dodge the subject and keep being miserable, or you can get it off your chest and feel better about yourself.

Kaito: ................You know how I told you about how people didn't think I'd amount to anything?

Takara: Yeah, what about it?

Kaito: It's just that sometimes......I begin to think what they say is true. I mean, who can say if my animation work will get anywhere? I could be stuck here for my whole life and be unable to make any more. I could waste away here and be forgotten! I don't want that to happen! I need to get out of here!

Takara: Kaito, pull yourself together!

Kaito: But those people are right! I never should've accepted the invitation to Hope's Peak! I'm gonna die here! Everything they ever told me was true! I'll never amount to anything!

Takara: KAITO! THAT'S ENOUGH! Those people are wrong!

Kaito: How do you know?! I've never done anything of worth in my life aside from waste my time! You have no way to prove that wrong!

Takara: No, I do. I've gotten to know you and can tell that whatever those people have said is wrong. You've spent your life working on what you love, that isn't worthless or a waste of time. You don't have to believe them. If you let them get to you, then of course you'll be proving them right. Wouldn't you think?

Kaito: .....Takara....

Takara: You shouldn't lose all hope from lies. You have to make a name for yourself, prove them wrong like you've done before.

Kaito: But this resort... How are we getting out of here?

Takara: We'll find a way. All of us will get back home and be safe and sound. But we'll only accomplish that if we believe in ourselves.

Kaito: .........You're right. I still have a reason to live! And as long as is still exists, I can't give up. Even if that creepy Chiyo chick says we're gonna die, we can't just sit here and let it happen, you know? Thanks, Takara. I almost lost sight of myself there. That dipshit Monokuma can't do anything to make us start killing, no matter what!

Takara: So you still gonna work on that journalist character? I'd like to keep helping you with that.

Kaito: You betcha! In fact, I want you to join the creative team! I mean, I can only go so far on my own. I know you probably have better things to do, but what do you say? You wanna help me with my masterpiece?

Takara: I'd be glad to, Kaito. We'll be a great team.

\---------------------------------

Takara: Hey there, Hikaru. I see you don't got Ayame glued to your side.

Hikaru: Yo, Takara! ....Hey what's that supposed to mean?!

Takara: Relax, it was only a joke!

Hikaru: Oh, yeah, right. Sorry there, dude.

Takara: No worries. So what'cha doing there?

Hikaru: Warm-ups! Any good athlete knows that you gotta do warm-ups before you do anything!

Takara: Oh? You're going to do some exercises?

Hikaru: Well duh. There ain't much else to do around here. Besides, I gotta keep my strength up! If I sit around and do nothing, all my strength will disappear! A track runner like myself can't go around and be lazy, you know!

Takara: So what kind of warm-ups are you doing?

Hikaru: Oh, just the basics. Jumping jacks, sit ups, arm stretches, that kinda stuff! Hey, I got an idea! Why don't you join me in exercising? You look kinda skinny, you know. You could deserve to get some meat on your bones!

Takara: No, no, no, I'm fine. I'm not that skinny.

Hikaru: Oh no, I insist! The lot of you guys could do with some exercise! Especially that Ryouta, he's nothing but skin and bones! Lucky for you, I have a training regimen that even someone like him could handle!

Takara: Really, I appreciate the offer, but I couldn't. I have other things to do.

Hikaru: I doubt that. We're stuck in a resort with no way out, there isn't much you could do. So what do ya say? Let's start training!

Takara: Hikaru, seriously, I'm not ready for this stuff.

Hikaru: Nonsense! You can do anything if you put your mind to it! That's how I was trained, and look where it got me! Now let's stop slacking and get to stretching!

\-----------------------------

Hikaru: Takara! You ready for another workout?

Takara: Um, I'll pass this time.

Hikaru: Huh? But why? You did a great job last time!

Takara: Probably because my arm is still sore from the last time. I think I pulled a muscle.

Hikaru: Heh, you know what they say! No pain, no gain!

Takara: Well, I think I went through too much pain... You think we can do something less taxing?

Hikaru: Hmmm, okay then. Hey, I know! Why don't I make you some lunch?

Takara: Lunch?

Hikaru: Yeah! We can improve your physique without getting exercise! I'm not much of a cook, but I can whip up something that'll make you feel better in no time! I'll fill you up with protein to get those muscles back to normal strength!

Takara: Um, I think I'll pass... Besides, it might come off as a date or something and I don't wanna give people the wrong idea.

Hikaru: What?! No, I'm not asking you out! I'm not looking for anyone right now, honest!

Takara: Woah, chill! I wasn't implying that you were!

Hikaru: You weren't? Oh, yeah...

Takara: What's with you and romance? Every time it gets brought up, you freak out.

Hikaru: Well, I'm not sure if you know about it, but before this resort business I was really popular with girls. Too popular if you ask me. They'd crawl all over me at every chance! You'd think something like that would be fun, but it isn't. It's quite a pain actually!

Takara: You mean, you don't like your fanbase?

Hikaru: No. Other sport type guys might love the attention, like that Leon guy, but I'd rather be left alone. I'm actually kinda happy you and the other girls don't see anything in me. I never got what made me so special anyway.

Takara: If you don't like being hounded so much, why do you let them do it?

Hikaru: I dunno. Guess I just don't got it in me to tell them to get lost. They're not bad people after all. And besides, it's not like I've ignored them. I've had...well...a few girlfriends...

Takara: You don't seem to hate it as much as you claim.

Hikaru: Oh no, I still don't like it. Especially because of the things I've done....

Takara: What things?

Hikaru: Erm, I just remembered that I promised to meet up with Ayame for some leg exercises! I have to get going before I'm late! See ya later!

\----------------------------

Takara: Alright Hikaru, it's time to talk. What kind of things have you done?

Hikaru: D-do we really have to talk about t-this?

Takara: Yes. I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what you're hiding.

Hikaru: You reporter types really are persistent... *sigh* I guess there's no point trying to hide it. But I have to tell ya now, I can't give the gritty details away. I have a reputation to keep.

Takara: Just as long as I can get something.

Hikaru: Cool, cool. Just don't think too badly of me about this, okay?

Takara: Don't worry, I'm not that judgmental.

Hikaru: Alright. So, I guess the first thing I should tell you is that my dad was a terrible influence on me as a kid. He did things I didn't realize were bad. I caught him in the act once and he told me what he was doing was natural. I believed him because I was so young at the time, and didn't understand why my mom divorced him sometime afterwords. I entered middle school and then one day a girl asked me out. It never happened before and she was so nice, so I gave her a chance. But then...

Takara: Then?

Hikaru: I...did something behind her back. In fact, I kept doing it. I had no idea it was wrong, I just thought it was standard fare. But then I learned the truth about what I was doing. I was mortified, man! Everything made sense, why my dad didn't want me to tell mom about what he was doing, why she kicked him out, everything! I didn't want people to get the wrong idea of me, so I broke up with my girlfriend at the time and split all ties. I wanted to distance myself from that past. It's part of the reason I accepted the Hope's Peak invite. I could have a new start and everything! But even here, my past actions still haunt me...

Takara: Dang, whatever you did must've been bad.

Hikaru: I'm surprised I was able to get away with it. I shouldn't have. If what I did got out to the public though, my life would be over. I can't let anyone find out about it. I'm risking a lot just letting you know! Takara, ya gotta promise that no matter what, the things I told you remain a secret between us. No one else can know, especially not Ayame!

Takara: Huh? Why Ayame?

Hikaru: Well, I mean, she's a real cool girl and all! I'm amazed I managed to make a friend like her! Plus she's the first girl I've met in ages who doesn't wanna get with me like that! But if she knew about my past, she'd hate me... So please, promise me you won't tell anyone!

Takara: Don't worry, Hikaru. Your secret's safe with me. What's happened between us remains between us.

Hikaru: Thanks, man. Damn, it actually feels nice to talk about that. It feels like a weight's been lifted off my chest! If, um, your arm is feeling any better you think we could go do some exercises? I'll go easy on you this time.

Takara: ...Sure, I'd be happy to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, we got Ayame, Naomi, and Shigeru!


	58. Resort Mode II - Ayame, Naomi, Shigeru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to get this done earlier, but I was stuck on Ayame and Naomi for a while. But it's all good now. I'll probably add more to this set at a later date though.

Ayame: Yo, Takara! Your nose doin' any better?

Takara: It's fine, don't worry about it. I've felt worse.

Ayame: Cool, cool. Just making sure and all that.

Takara: Seriously, you don't need to worry about me. It was just a nosebleed. Why don't we talk about something else?

Ayame: Oh, okay. What'cha wanna talk about?

Takara: Hmmmm, tell me more about football. I'm not much of a sports person so my knowledge is a bit rusty.

Ayame: Oh man, you wanna talk football? Alright, you got it! Anything in particular you wanna know?

Takara: Well, what position do you normally take?

Ayame: I don't really have a set position, I take whatever the coach thinks is best! But no matter what, I always kick ass!

Takara: Okay then, what would you say is your favorite position to play?

Ayame: Oh shit, my favorite? Damn, that's a tricky one. Hmmmmm... Dammit, I can't remember the name! I know it's a defense position, and it's a midfielder one too. They're usually considered the brain of the team and are good at attacking. Uuuuuugh, why can't I remember the name?!

Takara: Actually, I think I know what you're talking about! You're thinking of a playmaker, aren't you?

Ayame: Oh yeah! That's it! I thought it was an attacking midfielder for a sec. Guess it shows how long being away from my team has done. I need somewhere to practice! There's no space around here and not enough people! It's driving me nuts!

Takara: Don't worry, Ayame. I'm sure we'll find a way out of here. Then you can practice to your heart's content.

Ayame: You better be right. I'm bound to go nuts if I'm stuck in here for long.

Takara: Oh I doubt that. You're over-reacting.

Ayame: Easy for you to say, you just write about stuff! I need to move around and shit! Damn, I want out of here!

Takara: Believe me, Ayame, we all do. In the meantime, all we can do is deal with that stupid bear and work together.

Ayame: Again, that's easy for you to say. I kinda become a bitch if I'm cooped up in one spot for too long and junk. My temper makes me an outright beast.

Takara: Well, why don't you find some way to distract yourself?

Ayame: How'm I supposed to do that?

Takara: You could always spend your time doing stuff with us. It's not the same as playing football, but I'm sure we can be of service.

Ayame: Mmmmmm...

Takara: If nothing else, you can always spend time with Hikaru. What with how close you two are.

Ayame: Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!

Takara: It's a joke, calm down!

Ayame: Shit, sorry. I'm getting testy already. I gotta go, Takara. Need to find a way to blow off some steam without hitting someone. See ya later.

Takara: Note to self, be careful with joking around Ayame.

\--------------------------------

Ayame: Takara, we gotta talk.

Takara: Huh? About what?

Ayame: It's about your diet.

Takara: Wait, my what?

Ayame: Your diet! Look at you, your arms are so skinny! How can you deal with that?

Takara: What are you talking about? My arms aren't _that_ skinny.

Ayame: You're only saying that because you don't eat enough! You gotta pump yourself up and fill up on energy! Otherwise, you'll just let that body of yours go to waste!

Takara: But I really don't need to eat that much. My work leans more towards things like research.

Ayame: Excuses, excuses, that's all I'm hearing! A healthy lifestyle is achieved through stuffing yourself with calories and burning off the energy from it! That's why I eat so much every morning!

Takara: That may work for you and Hikaru, but I'm usually sitting in front of books and a computer gathering research, I don't need to stuff myself with food in the morning. I appreciate the offer, but it isn't needed.

Ayame: Fine, suit yourself. Enjoy having sticks for arms then!

Takara: Why do you care so much?

Ayame: Isn't it obvious? I want a workout buddy!

Takara: A workout buddy? Couldn't you just ask Hikaru?

Ayame: No! I mean, Hikaru's cool and all, but I need a girlfriend to talk about shit! And I thought you'd be the perfect match!

Takara: I don't know, I'm not that into sports and exercise.

Ayame: That's cuz you're one of those bookish types! But I bet if you and I get a training regimen going, and if we get more meat on your bones, then you'll be set for the field in no time!

Takara: I appreciate the offer, but I really don't think I'm the one you want to go to for this. Why not ask Kazumi? She seems like the type to play sports and work out.

Ayame: I mean, Kazumi's cool and all, but I was hoping for you. Kazumi isn't what I was looking for.

Takara: What do you mean "not what you're looking for"?

Ayame: ...It's a touchy subject.

Takara: I won't tell anyone.

Ayame: No, I ain't talking about some dark secret. It's something that...well...I have problems talking about.

Takara: I won't judge. You can tell me what's on your mind.

Ayame: ......I wanna tell you, but I can't. Not now. I need to think it over first. I'll talk about this later once I feel comfortable with the whole thing.

Takara: Are you sure?

Ayame: Yeah, I ain't ready to talk about it yet. But I want you to consider my workout buddy proposal! Take it seriously!

\--------------------------------------

Takara: Say Naomi, you've never said much about your life before coming to Japan.

Naomi: I didn't think anyone was interested. Why, are you interested?

Takara: Yeah I am! I don't know much about England, so I'd love to hear what you have to say about it!

Naomi: Wow... No one's asked me about my life there in years. Very well, I'd be happy to tell you about England. Anything in particular you want to know?

Takara: Um... I'm not so sure. There's so many potential topics...

Naomi: Just pick the first one that comes to mind, then.

Takara: Okay then... Well, where did you live?

Naomi: No one's ever asked me that question before... Well, erm, I didn't live in London before you make that assumption. Though I did live just outside of it, and had a chance to visit it quite often. No, the place I lived was called Oxford.

Takara: I don't think I've heard of Oxford before.

Naomi: It's alright, I didn't expect you to. Anything else you'd like me to tell you?

Takara: Oh, okay. Well, what was school like for you?

Naomi: School? Well, before I moved to Japan I was going to an all-girl's school. It was a bit expensive to go to, but I enjoyed myself. I was getting great grades after all.

Takara: What about friends? Did you have a lot of them?

Naomi: No, not really. I kept to myself for the most part. There were a few friends here and there, but I haven't been able to keep in touch with any of them. Plus there's one who, well, let's just say that things got shaky between us before I left and...yeah.

Takara: Was it difficult having such a change in location?

Naomi: Um...It still is.

Takara: Huh?

Naomi: Things are so different here, even though I've managed to figure some things out. And sometimes I say things that make others look at me like I'm daft. It seems like no matter what I do, I can't fit in.

Takara: It only seems that way because you're getting frustrated. Give it some time, I bet you'll get used to things.

Naomi: I know you're trying to help, Takara, but I'm not sure I'll ever be used to life in Japan. For a number of reasons...

Takara: What reasons?

Naomi: Well, erm, I'm not really in the mood to be talking about that. I know you're a journalist and all, but you don't need to pry into everything. Some of us prefer to keep things to ourselves.

Takara: Woah, I get it, you don't need to snap at me!

Naomi: I know you didn't mean it, but you can't go around expecting people to tell you everything about themselves. We're not all open books.

Takara: Look, I'm sorry-

Naomi: I think it's best if you leave. If this goes on any further who knows what might happen.

Takara: Maybe you're right. I'll be going then.

Naomi: ...

\---------------------------------------------

Shigeru: I'm surprised you came to speak to me again. What reason do you have for approaching me?

Takara: Well, it's like you said. We have to figure out what's going on here, and while I'd rather not admit it, you seem to have an idea of what we should be looking for. So I figured we should pool our information together.

Shigeru: ...Huh.

Takara: Is something wrong?

Shigeru: ...No, it's nothing. I wasn't expecting such cooperation from anyone else. I assumed I'd have to force all of you to get anything done.

Takara: Anyway... Have you narrowed down the possible suspects for who trapped us here?

Shigeru: Unfortunately no. There are a number of reasons why we've been trapped here after all, and with no definitive way to figure that out, it's difficult to narrow down a culprit. After all, we could be hostages in some grand scheme set up by terrorists. Japan does have it's enemies after all, though I have the feeling you already knew that. Or maybe our captors have something to gain out of having us kill each other. Whatever the reason, I doubt Monokuma is about to tell us what it is.

Takara: You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?

Shigeru: Well of course I have. Kidnapping always has a purpose. Money, infamy, pleasure, I know that better than anyone else.

Takara: Wait, what was that?

Shigeru: Erm, nothing. It's not important anyway. What does matter is that once we get out of here, we can report whoever's responsible to the proper authorities so they may suffer the punishment. Even if it means having to work together with all of you, we must get out of here.

Takara: ...Why do you keep saying things like that?

Shigeru: Come again?

Takara: You're always looking down on us, acting like you're better than everyone. But why? Haven't you tried actually making friends with everyone else? That's sure to get better results than acting like an asshole.

Shigeru: ...I can't.

Takara: Huh?

Shigeru: ..I...I don't... Whatever, it doesn't concern you. You're just a commoner.

Takara: ...Did you really just call me a commoner?

Shigeru: That's enough, I'm through talking with you. In case you haven't noticed, I have a mastermind to take down and a resort to escape. And I'd suggest you do your part in making that happen.

Takara: That was strange...

\----------------------------------

Takara: Hey there, Shigeru.

Shigeru: ...Again you talk to me?

Takara: Um, yeah. We went through this already.

Shigeru: Erm, right... Do what do I owe the pleasure?

Takara: I was thinking we could try to work some more stuff out about our captors.

Shigeru: Well you're in luck. I happen to have made some progress. I've been thinking more about the location we've been brought to.

Takara: The resort? What about it?

Shigeru: Well, before all this I had assumed this was like a standard kidnapping, in a manner of speaking of course. But the more I think about it, the more I'm realizing that isn't the case. You see, most kidnappers do leave their victims in a secluded environment, but never are they brought to a place like this. Just think about it. We can't leave, but we have free reign around the resort. This setting is also too nice for your average kidnapper.

Takara: I agree. This is a fancy resort filled to the brim with places to go. I doubt a kidnapper would take us to a place like this.

Shigeru: We also have plenty of resources. Food, water, hygiene, etc. Kidnappers are never so generous. That alone raises some flags.

Takara: So considering this isn't your standard kidnapper, that means the motivations aren't ordinary.

Shigeru: Exactly. We've been brought here to play this killing game for a reason. Something we're missing, no doubt. That false headmaster isn't about to tell us either.

Takara: Yeah, that's for certain.

Shigeru: I just don't understand...

Takara: ...Shigeru, why do you know so much about kidnappers?

Shigeru: Isn't it obvious? I'm a victim of kidnapping.

Takara: You're what?!

Shigeru: Yes. Multiple kidnappings to be precise.

Takara: You say so non-chalantly!

Shigeru: Well of course I do, I've been desensitized. The more it happens, the more you get used to it. And since I know you'll ask, I've been kidnapped because I'm from a rich family. I may not be on the levels of the Togami corporation, but the Kitagawa family is influential in it's own ways. I'm the sole heir to the family, so naturally I'd be a target for kidnapping. The prodigal son of a rich family? Surely that's bound to get them money or infamy. I'd mistakenly assumed this was another one of those situations, but with a twist added and unworthy people brought in.

Takara: ...

Shigeru: I'm surprised you didn't know. You're the journalist who's done research on all of us, aren't you? Surely you'd have heard about one of those kidnappings?

Takara: No, I didn't. This is the first I've ever heard.

Shigeru: What a shame. You disappoint me, Takara.

Takara: Anyway, how did your parents respond to these instances?

Shigeru: ... The usual manner. They refused their demands and rescued me each time.

Takara: They must've been really worried about you then.

Shigeru: ..........Thank you for your contributions, they were welcome to my theories. However, I think you should leave now. I have a lot of work to do and can't waste any time. Farewell for now.

Takara: He did it again...

\-------------------------------------

Takara: Hey Shigeru, I wa-

Shigeru: ........ I don't understand you. Why?

Takara: ...Shigeru?

Shigeru: Why do you continue to bother me like this?! I don't understand!

Takara: What are you talking about?

Shigeru: Stay away from me! You're not natural! Why the hell do you care about me?!

Takara: Shigeru, I-

Shigeru: I told you to stay away from meeeeeee!

Takara: Wait, come back!

....

Takara: The theatre? Why'd he come here?

....

Takara: Shigeru, what the hell's gotten into you? You act like I'm some strange creature!

Shigeru: ......Why do you keep talking to me?

Takara: You keep asking me that, but it doesn't make any sense! Why are you asking that so much?!

Shigeru: You're a commoner, commoners aren't supposed to be on the same level as people of my level. That's what I was told!

Takara: Who told you that?

Shigeru: ...My parents.

Takara: What kind of fucking parents do you have?

Shigeru: ............You wouldn't understand. The world I live in is different from yours.

Takara: You keep thinking that way and of course I'll never understand!

Shigeru: No, you wouldn't understand anything about my life. Tell me Takara, how were you raised?

Takara: Um... I don't think I understand the question.

Shigeru: In that case, let me tell you what my life was like. Expectation after expectation piled down upon me, pressure to be the best at anything, hours upon hours trying to learn how to do this and that, days where I didn't get food for failing to obey my parents wishes. That was how I was raised.

Takara: ...Huh?

Shigeru: Are you an imbecile?! Must I simplify things for you?! My entire life, my parents pressured me to live up to the Kitagawa name! My days were spent finding some skill I had with no rest or breaks. I was sent to exclusive private schools that didn't let up if you weren't able to stay on track. I had no childhood! Even when I found my skill in composing, it didn't end! That is the life of the wealthy, it's not all sunshine and roses like the ignorant masses are told.

Takara: ...Is that why you're so rude to everyone?

Shigeru: I didn't have time to make any friends, I was too busy working myself to the bone.

Takara: That's no excuse! You have the chance to change that now, don't you?

Shigeru: You really think I'm going to do so with people like you?

Takara: Don't give me that shit. No one here might be as rich as you are, but that doesn't mean they won't understand you. Besides, you and Naomi seem to be hitting it off.

Shigeru: .......That's different.

Takara: Bullshit. If you gave us a chance, I'm sure you'd like us. Or at least some of us. If you keep shutting yourself out and acting rude, you'll be just like your parents.

Shigeru: You don't know that!

Takara: Well, I can tell that deep down you like me, so it's not as hard as you claim.

Shigeru: I merely tolerate your presence. You're just another pawn I can use to escape this place.

Takara: I don't know about that. I think if you just gave us a chance, you'd find we're not the pawns you convince yourself we are.

Shigeru: ........I knew you wouldn't understand. Things are just too different for you. We're through talking. Don't come near me unless you've found something of use.

Takara: ...He hesitated there. He just needs to get over those problems and he'll see I'm right. Maybe Naomi will help him realize that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up is Shizuka, Minoru, and Arata! Also, let me know if there's any survivors you want to see done first!


	59. Resort Mode III - Shizuka, Minoru, Arata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hoped to have this out earlier, but a lot of stuff got in the way and I got sidetracked.
> 
> Also, I suggest you reread some of the parts of the past. I've been touching them up and fixing them lately. I haven't finished, but it's really worth a look! Especially considering Minoru, who I did not do justice for in the original run.

Shizuka: Oh, Takara! Are you here to pick up the painting?

Takara: Well yeah, I wanna see how good it looks after the touch-up.

Shizuka: Yeah, that's understandable. Come on in, I'll get it for you.

Takara: Alright, if you say so.

Shizuka: ...And here! It should be finished and touched up! What do you think of the finished project?

Takara: This is incredible! It looks even better than before!

Shizuka: You really think so?

Takara: Well yeah, you're not the Super High School Level Painter for nothing.

Shizuka: I guess that's true.

Takara: You told me that you've been painting since you were young. Any reason in particular for that?

Shizuka: Why I started painting? Hmmm... Well, I guess I've always enjoyed art? Art allows us to express ourselves in ways we wouldn't be able to. Those feelings and emotions we must keep hidden, the way one perceives the world, art lets us bring those thoughts to life and share it with the world.

Takara: In that case, what would that unfinished painting I saw mean? You told me you've never seen that boy before even though looking at him makes you sad. Is there some deeper meaning to him?

Shizuka: Him? Ummmm, let me see... I guess he would represent...huh, strange.

Takara: Huh? What's strange?

Shizuka: Now that I think about it a bit more, I think he's supposed to represent...the heart's desire or something.

Takara: Why's that?

Shizuka: Well, considering that I get sad looking at it, that would mean he represents something I wish I could have, but can't for whatever reason. This sadness isn't just some ordinary sadness either, when I look at him I feel this kind of...longing...

Takara: So he's some kind of metaphor?

Shizuka: I guess so. I just started painting him without thinking. But...I don't understand what he's supposed to be a metaphor of...

Takara: But you're the one who painted him. Surely he has to stand in for something you wish you could have. Is there anything like that?

Shizuka: ...Not that I can think of, no. The closest I can think of is something I wish I could do, but can't. But I doubt he'd represent that...

Takara: Are you sure?

Shizuka: Well, there's one thing I'd like to have but...that's a personal thing I don't want to talk about. It's not an easy thing to talk about, sorry.

Takara: No, I get it. It's some deep stuff that you don't wanna bother other people with. Maybe what this guy represents is meant to remain a mystery?

Shizuka: Well, they say that art is subjective, so I'm gonna agree with you on that. I can't figure out what he's meant to represent, at least with the way it is now, so maybe if I finish it I'll figure out what it means!

Takara: Well, that's one way to look at it.

Shizuka: In fact, I'm gonna get to work on it right now! We'll have to talk some more later, I got a painting to finish!

\---------------------------------

Takara: So how's that painting coming along?

Shizuka: I think I'm almost done! I've had to stop a couple times because I keep feeling sad, but I can say with certainty that I'm close to finishing it!

Takara: If you keep getting sad because of it, then why don't you stop painting it?

Shizuka: Takara, I'm shocked! Surely you of all people should know why I can't stop!

Takara: ...I should?

Shizuka: You really don't know?! I'm a painter, Takara! And as a painter, I simply can't just stop painting something because it makes me feel sad or uncomfortable! What kind of artist would I be if I just abandoned a piece of work and left it unfinished? I always finish my paintings, no matter what! Even if I have to sacrifice sleep to do so!

Takara: You mean you've gone without sleep just to finish paintings?!

Shizuka: Well of course! I've stayed up for days trying to get my work done! It's been tough, but it's rewarding to know that my work is finished! I don't even care if I get scolded by the teacher for sleeping in class!

Takara: Wow, I never knew the determination of an artist was so strong.

Shizuka: Well, I didn't get to be the Super High School Level Painter for nothing. I'm good at painting but I'm no genius. I've had to work to get where I am today.

Takara: I believe that. Though you probably shouldn't be sacrificing sleep for your work.

Shizuka: Oh come on, don't tell me you've never stayed up late doing research for an article or anything like that.

Takara: ...

Shizuka: Aha! I knew it!

Takara: Hey, I don't do it all the time! It's happened maybe once or twice for me!

Shizuka: It's still the pot calling the kettle black no matter how you phrase it, Takara.

Takara: Oh shut up.

Shizuka: Hahahahaha!

Takara: Anyway... Is there anything you haven't painted? Or rather, haven't been able to paint from start to finish?

Shizuka: .......In a way, yes.

Takara: Hm? What is it?

Shizuka: .........My mom.

Takara: ...Oh.

Shizuka: I've wanted to paint her so many times since she died, but every time I try I just...can't do it. I still remember what she looks like, so that's not the problem. But my heart hurts trying to paint her. I keep thinking about what happened and...

Takara: Shizuka, are you okay?

Shizuka: Huh? Oh yeah. ...I think I need a moment to myself though. We can talk later though, okay?

Takara: Poor Shizuka...

\------------------------------------

Shizuka: Hmmmmmmmm...

Takara: Shizuka, is something wrong?

Shizuka: Huh? What?

Takara: You were staring off into space looking frustrated.

Shizuka: Oh, sorry. I must've gotten lost in my thoughts or something. And here you came all this way to talk to me too.

Takara: It's fine, really. No need to beat yourself up over it. Mistakes happen. What were you so caught up thinking about anyway?

Shizuka: Well... Have you ever felt like something's...off?

Takara: What do you mean by "off" exactly?

Shizuka: This might sound crazy, but do you feel like you've forgotten something?

Takara: Forgotten something?

Shizuka: Yeah! I can't explain it, but since we've come here I've felt like something important is missing! And I keep feeling weird pangs of nostalgia for no reason when I see things, even though it shouldn't make any sense!

Takara: Um, I can't say I've felt that way.

Shizuka: But that's not all! I've also been having this dream night after night.

Takara: What kind of dream is it?

Shizuka: I'm fuzzy about the details, but I remember the gist of what happens. I'm standing with people, but I can't recall their faces. I can tell I'm close to them though, we're laughing together and enjoying ourselves. And I feel...happy. But then, things start going wrong. There's screaming and crying, and each of them is killed off one by one. There's blood...everywhere... Soon it's just me and one other person. I start clinging to them, like I'm afraid I'll lose them if I let go. They say something to me, trying to comfort me, but I can't let go. But it's useless. Somehow they die too and I'm left all alone. And something about their death hits me more than the others because I........I.....

Takara: Shizuka, calm down! It was only a dream!

Shizuka: But it felt so real! I wake up and my chest hurts after I have that dream! And the pain feels so familiar, like I've felt it multiple times before! But no matter what, I can't figure out why!

Takara: It's gonna be alright, Shizuka! Whatever's going on here with this dream and everything, we'll figure it out. We can even ask the others if they've noticed anything strange. I'll help you get through this, I'm not gonna let my friend go through this alone.

Shizuka: .......Huh? What was that?

Takara: What was what?

Shizuka: Just now, did you call me your......friend?

Takara: Well of course. I assumed that after all this time we've spent, the two of us were friends. That's how I see it anyway.

Shizuka: .........

Takara: What, what's the big deal about what I said?

Shizuka: Oh, um, nothing! It's just, erm, I'm usually the one to initiate the friendship. So, um, having someone else do so is kinda, different. But I like it. It just makes me feel...happy.

Takara: ...Okay then. If you say so.

Shizuka: Sorry, you think it's weird don't you?

Takara: No, no, not really! Considering the other people we've got here, I'm pretty sure that if your behavior _is_ weird, theirs would be weirder.

Shizuka: ......Thank you, Takara. That really means a lot to me. Um, if it isn't any trouble, do you think I could paint you again some time?

Takara: Yeah, sure you can.

\------------------------------------

Minoru: Takara! Good to see you!

Takara: The feeling's mutual.

Minoru: I've been meaning to ask you something, do you have any pets of your own?

Takara: My own pets? Why, is it important?

Minoru: Well, I wanna see everyone's furry friends when we make it out of here! I've yet to meet an animal that didn't like me.

Takara: Well, no. I don't have a pet. I did have a dog once, but he passed away a few years back.

Minoru: Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up.

Takara: No, it's fine. He was happy and lived to old age. He passed on peacefully in his sleep.

Minoru: Well that's good to hear. And you know what they say, "all dogs go to heaven"!

Takara: I've never heard anyone say that.

Minoru: Oh, well, I have... And I want to believe it.

Takara: Hey, I'm not doubting you! It's just an odd phrase that sounds unfamiliar.

Minoru: I thought a lot of people knew it though.

Takara: Um.... Hey, let's change the subject! How'd you start helping out at the animal hospital?

Minoru: It's the family business, I thought I told you that.

Takara: No, no, that's not what I meant. What exactly got you to start helping out? All the others got their talent somewhere, you have to have a start as well.

Minoru: Ohhhh, that's what you meant? Why didn't you say so? Well, we used to have this employee who didn't really care about his job. He'd always come in late and never listened when my parents tried to teach him something. One day there was an emergency and everyone else was busy, yet that guy was late. So I stepped up and took control, remembering all the things I'd learned from watching my parents work. Turns out I'm a natural at healing animals and saved the little guy's life! When that guy finally came in, he kinda got fired!

Takara: Wow, that was pretty brave of you. You really do care about animals, huh?

Minoru: Well yeah. I want to do whatever I can to help them. Heck, once I'm done at Hope's Peak, I plan to go around the world to help as much as I can!

Takara: Huh? You're not gonna keep working at the animal hospital?

Minoru: Oh no, I plan on going back one day. But I want to travel and broaden my horizons first! Besides, I'm hoping to meet up with the famous Nobuo Nanase in my journey so I'm bound to learn a lot from him!

Takara: Who?

Minoru: You don't know him? Not trying to be rude, but for a journalist you don't know that much about famous people, Takara. Anyway, Nobuo Nanase is a genius! He's a conservationist who's traveled all around the world. There was a bit of controversy surrounding him at one point.

Takara: Controversy? About what?

Minoru: Well, he has a daughter. And when she was young he raised her alongside animals and zoos and reserves. There's some people out there who thought it was dangerous and would have negative effects on his daughter, but nothing ever happened to her! And even so, who are they to judge how he raises his kid? The way I see it, meeting her would be just as big an honor as meeting the man himself!

Takara: Well if he's inspired you, then he can't be all that bad.

Minoru: I just hope I don't make a fool out of myself when I meet either of them. I wanna make a good first impression you know.

Takara: Whatever they're like, I'm sure you'll be able to impress them.

Minoru: Well Nobuo maybe, but if what I've heard about his daughter is true then she'll be harder. From what I've heard about her she's...feisty. But I don't mind, I like feisty!

Takara: Yeah...good luck with that...

Minoru: Wait, no, that's not what I meant! Gaaaah, I'm so stupid, she'd never like a loser like me! WAIT NO I DON'T MEAN LIKE THAT! GAAAH, I'M AN IDIOT!

\------------------------------

Arata: You know, I haven't seen you wear any of those outfits I gave you, Tsukuda.

Takara: Oh, well, I didn't want such nice clothes to get ruined is all! I mean, we're here in god knows where and anything could happen to them without a moment's notice.

Arata: Excuses! While yes, this resort is...less than optimal what with all the dirt outside, that doesn't mean you can't go flaunting off your figure in my spectacular designs! Only the best of the best have the pleasure to get my outfits for free. I'm certain you know just how expensive my line tends to be?

Takara: Speaking about that, are the rumors true? About Junko Enoshima wearing your fashions?

Arata: ...

Takara: Something wrong?

Arata: It's just that...Enoshima is a sour subject with me...

Takara: Hm? So you've met her? The rumors are true?

Arata: Unfortunately, yes.

Takara: Wait, why's that a bad thing?

Arata: Enoshima is...well...a _different_ person than her public image would lead you to believe.

Takara: Different in a good way, or different in a bad way?

Arata: Different in the worst imaginable way possible.

Takara: What? Junko Enoshima is like that? There's no way. Sure, celebrities aren't really the same people they claim to be on-camera so to speak, but I honestly doubt she's as bad as you say.

Arata: Believe me, my experiences with her were the second most horrible moments in my life. Oh yes, when she's in front of the cameras she's all peppy and sweet. But once they're gone, she's a different person entirely. She'd say these things, things no sane or rational human would, and act like it was average fare for her.

Takara: What kind of things?

Arata: Heh, even at the worst of times, you still act like the journalist you are. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or if it's you being nosy. As for what she'd say, it was unsettling. Her words were cold and black, not exactly evil, but something else entirely. I couldn't possibly begin to describe it. And she had this disturbing way of getting into your head, figuring out just what could break you down and make you weep. And then there was her actions.

Takara: Oh come on, this information is hard to believe as it is but what kind of things would she do that could be worse than that?

Arata: She was the worst, Tsukuda, I don't lie about this! As for what she did, well, how do I describe it? I'd say it was multiple personalities but it didn't feel like that. Granted, I'm no psychologist. Perhaps mood swings are the best way to put it.

Takara: Mood swings?

Arata: These weren't any average mood swings. These were the most extreme and rapid mood swings I've seen, and I have two sisters mind you. One minute she'd act all cutesy and adorable, the next she'd be talking like Katsuya, the next she'd act like damn royalty! They were impossible to predict at that. And her reason for them? She'd get _bored_. And the other things she did were...w-were...

Takara: Yes?

Arata: I'm sorry, but I can't bring this up. I'd be bringing out too many bad memories. Ones that are and aren't related to that wretched Enoshima.

Takara: ...I don't know, Arata. I want to believe you, but this just sounds unbelievable. How come no one else has brought this up about her before?

Arata: She has her way of manipulation. Let's just leave it at that. If you don't choose to believe me, fine. I'm used to being told my claims are lies. I just figured that you of all people would believe me.

Takara: I'm sorry, but this is merely a rumor that I can't prove or disprove. I can't believe those, otherwise I couldn't call myself a journalist.

Arata: Believe me all you want, but know this. If you ever face that vile woman, remember what I told you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, it's been a year since I started uploading this fanfic! Thanks everyone for the support this past year, and I hope you give me the same support with my other works in the DLR series!


	60. Resort Mode IV - Miyako, Ryouta, Kumiko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took too long, gomen.

Takara: So Miyako, why don't you tell me something else about yourself?

Miyako: Hm? But why?

Takara: Because I don't really know a lot about you, nobody does! I want to know you better, is that such a crime?

Miyako: No, I guess not. Monokuma wouldn't punish you for it.

Takara: Exactly! So let's talk about you for a bit.

Miyako: No, I don't want to.

Takara: Oh come on, you can't keep everything to yourself.

Miyako: Why does it matter to you?

Takara: Well, because you're so damn quiet! You don't talk to anyone and you're always keeping to yourself! I can get it if you're not a people person, but you should at least have someone to be close to! You need at least one friend.

Miyako: ...I can't.

Takara: No, none of that 'you can't' bullcrap! I'm tired of you isolating yourself from everyone, especially since I know nothing about you!

Miyako: You know I like to make Rube Goldburg machines.

Takara: That's not what I meant! Keeping yourself away from us, it's only gonna cause bad things! I know this because I've seen it happen!

Miyako: You should probably calm down.

Takara: I AM CALM!

Miyako: No, you're not. .....Look, I don't like talking about myself. I like hearing about others.

Takara: But you can't keep everything to yourself, Miyako! Don't you realize that?!

Miyako: ...I'm not like the rest of you. I don't have any special talents or skills, I'm not famous in any way, and frankly I'd rather keep my problems to myself. I'm just a normal person, I got chosen for Hope's Peak from a lottery of all the other non-talented high school kids in the country, I'm not special.

Takara: Well, to have your name drawn from a selection of thousands, that makes you special doesn't it? That would mean you did have Super High School Level Good Luck like your title says, right?

Miyako: ......If you knew the things I've seen before coming here, you wouldn't say that.

Takara: What are you talking about?

Miyako: I'm sorry, I can't tell you.

Takara: Can't or won't?

Miyako: Takara, just because you're a journalist doesn't mean you have to pry into things I don't wanna talk about.

Takara: ...Look, I'm not trying to read you like an open book or anything. I just think that having a friend here would do you some good. I mean, everyone else here has at least one person they can turn to. But you don't. And that worries me. I just think you should have someone you can talk to if needed.

Miyako: ......

Takara: Miyako, you okay?

Miyako: ...I will think about what you said. Your concern is...appreciated. I'll be going now.

Takara: ...What's she keeping locked up?

\---------------------------

Miyako: Takara.

Takara: Huh? Miyako? You're talking to me on your own?

Miyako: Yeah. So what?

Takara: It's just that normally I have to bug you to get you talking. What's with the sudden change?

Miyako: Don't know.

Takara: Is something...bothering you?

Miyako: ...Maybe.

Takara: Can you tell me what that is?

Miyako: I don't know. It's complicated.

Takara: Considering our situation, it can't be all that bad.

Miyako: ...Have you ever wanted to say something important, but couldn't because it would hurt the other person?

Takara: Um, I don't think so?

Miyako: Oh. Well then, what about someone you wanted to help but couldn't no matter what you tried?

Takara: I...yeah, that's definitely happened.

Miyako: That's the situation I have. There's people I want to help, but I can't.

Takara: Why not?

Miyako: They'll get hurt if I do. They won't believe me if I tell them.

Takara: That's...a pretty tricky problem.

Miyako: And the longer we stay here, the more worse their situation gets.

Takara: Wait, you're not actually thinking of-

Miyako: No, I'm not. Commiting murder wouldn't solve anything. It'd just hurt people further.

Takara: Well don't worry about it too much.

Miyako: Huh?

Takara: We're gonna make it out of here, Monokuma's stupid plans can only last for so long. I think we can turn the tables on him sooner or later. And when we do, you can go help your friends. Got that?

Miyako: ...... Your stubborness is truly amazing.

Takara: Hey, it's not stubborness, it's determination.

Miyako: ...Takara, I think I'd like to take you up on that friendship offer.

Takara: Wait, what.

Miyako: Like you said, it'd help if I had someone I could confide to. I can't tell you everything, but at least I can get some things off of my chest. That is, if it's still okay to be friends.

Takara: Are you kidding? Of course it's still okay! I'm just glad to hear that you're willing to take this chance.

Miyako: ...Perhaps I can help you after all.

Takara: Huh? What was that?

Miyako: Nothing. I was mumbling to myself.

Takara: Oh. Okay then. You want to have lunch together or something?

Miyako: Sure.

\------------------------------------------------

Takara: You know, I didn't expect a guy like you to be a florist.

Ryouta: What's that supposed to mean?!

Takara: Woah, nothing, calm down! What I mean is, you don't seem like the type to be that interested in flowers.

Ryouta: Haven't you heard the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover'?

Takara: ...Anyway, what got you into the florist trade exactly?

Ryouta: Have you forgotten that my family runs a flower shop?

Takara: No, I haven't. But that's not what I mean! After all, you didn't have to work there. You could've ignored it and done your own thing, so what made you become so skilled with flowers?

Ryouta: Why do you even care?!

Takara: Because I'm a journalist, I'm interested in these kinds of things. Now just answer the question.

Ryouta: Well, if you _must_ know, I just find flowers fascinating. Perhaps it's due to growing up in a flower shop, but I've always seen a deeper meaning to them. Flower language, flower arrangement, what certain flowers can do, it all interests me. So I decided to work in the flower shop to help out. And then I studied plants from that point on.

Takara: So that's it? That's why you became a florist?

Ryouta: I didn't just start working in the shop because of that! My father is out researching flora across the country so he's never home. Leaving my mother the only person to attend the store. My mother's health is fragile, and running the store all by herself just isn't good for her body. So I began to help out. If the work was split up, she wouldn't be stuck in bed.

Takara: Why's she working so much if it's bad for her?

Ryouta: Because that place means everything to her. She'd be devastated if it were to fail. That's why I went to such lengths to protect it when that scumbag tried to make it go under. I don't know what she'd do if she lost it.

Takara: Wow. I had no idea it was so important to her.

Ryouta: Yep, she loves that place so much that she'd work herself to death. And since I'm an only child, I'm the only person keeping that from happening.

Takara: Heh, I guess you really care about your mom then.

Ryouta: What's that supposed to mean?! Is it so wrong to worry about my frail mother?!

Takara: No, it just doesn't seem like you to be that concerned about anyone, what with how you seem to hate everyone.

Ryouta: Well excuse me, princess! I'm allowed to care for my mother! You're the worst to go stereotyping me like that, you know! You're just trying to break my guard down so I'll be all buddy-buddy and then you'll berate me for feeling like an idiot!

Takara: Erm, no, actually that's-

Ryouta: Shut up, liar! I'm not falling for that ruse, not again! I'm getting far away from you!

Takara: Ryouta, wait! ...Dammit, he's gone. ...Wait a minute, 'again'?

\------------------------------------

Takara: Ryouta, I think we need to talk.

Ryouta: Where the fuck did this come from?!

Takara: It came from the fact that you've been dodgy as fuck and keep saying stuff like 'I won't fall for that again'. I'm no Super High School Level Therapist, but this seems like something you need to tell someone about.

Ryouta: W-well, how do I know I can trust you with this information?! I could turn my back and then my whole past is out there for the world to see!

Takara: You already told me about how you nearly lost the flower shop, and I haven't told anyone about it. I'm a journalist, but I'm not a sleazy one. If there's something you want me to keep private, I'll make sure it stays safe.

Ryouta: ...When I was younger, I had this friend. Her name was Saki. She was one of the few people I didn't mind having near me. She and I were close in elementary school, and I thought we'd be that way in middle school.

Takara: What happened between you two?

Ryouta: She got some other friends, we still talked though. I thought it wouldn't matter that much, so I still spilled my guts out to her and everything. I was wrong to do that though. One day, people started giving me strange looks in the halls. Some even snickered at me. I didn't know why they were, so I ignored it at first. But then one of her friends came up to me.

Takara: What'd she do?

Ryouta: She mocked me. Laughed at me about something I confided to Saki in secrecy! And when I asked how she knew about that, she said that _everyone_ knew about it. After that, I confronted Saki about it. I had some faith that this was all a misunderstanding. That she didn't tell anyone about it and she'd say she had no idea how it got out. But all I got instead was silence and a low head. I knew at that moment that she told people, she told everyone behind my back! I trusted her and this is how she repays me?!

Takara: Well, what happened after that?

Ryouta: I stopped talking to her of course. She played me like a violin and I wasn't about to let her back in so easily. I've seen her try to talk to me in the halls, or standing outside the store, but I ignore her.

Takara: Are you sure you should do that?

Ryouta: Huh?

Takara: Maybe the situation is deeper than you think. There must be a reason why it got out, possibly out of her control. She clearly wants to make amends with you, so why not give her a chance?

Ryouta: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Takara: What.

Ryouta: It's an American phrase. It means that if you're fooled by someone once, it's their fault. But if they fool you again, it's your own fault. I can't just let Saki back in now that she's betrayed me like that. She might do it again.

Takara: Well you don't know that yet, now do you?

Ryouta: W-what do you mean?

Takara: You should at least hear her out. You don't know her side of the story, so give her a chance to explain herself before you keep her out of your life forever. If you think she's going to hurt you again without giving her a chance, then nothing's gonna be solved!

Ryouta: How would you know anything?! You've never had to lose a friend you trusted!

Takara: Actually, I have.

Ryouta: ...Wait, what?

Takara: I tried to help someone who needed it. I had faith that she'd get better, but she never did. It still hurts to know I thought she was going to be okay, but she wasn't. I cared about her, only to watch her...

Ryouta: Takara, you're crying. Are you alright?

Takara: What? ...Oh, sorry. I'll be okay.

Ryouta: ...Maybe you're right.

Takara: Hm?

Ryouta: I should...hear Saki out. All this time I've been blaming her without knowing what happened. I've been too busy sitting in my own anger that I didn't consider how she felt. But now I'll never know how she feels because we're stuck here until someone kills another person.

Takara: We'll get out of here without that happening, Ryouta. Don't look on the dark side of things.

Ryouta: You know, you can be really annoying sometimes.

Takara: I have to be in order to get you to listen.

Ryouta: ...You know, if it's you saying we'll make it out, I think I can believe you. You're the only one who's said that and sounded believable.

Takara: Hey, you're smiling!

Ryouta: Sh-shut up! I can smile sometimes, you know!

Takara: Yeah, yeah, whatever.

\------------------------------------

Kumiko: Hey Karins, didya know I got super secret powers?

Takara: Secret powers? What do you mean?

Kumiko: Duuuuuh, it means I gotta superpower that no one else in the whooooooole wide world does!

Takara: Really now. And just what is this superpower of yours?

Kumiko: Okay, so you know about the red string of fate and all that stuff, right?

Takara: ...Um, yeah. Why?

Kumiko: Well, I have the power to _see_ the red string!

Takara: ...See...the red string of fate?

Kumiko: Uuuuuuh, yeah! I don't gotta repeat it do I?

Takara: No, no, it's just......how?

Kumiko: I dunno! I just can!

Takara: And what makes you so sure about this?

Kumiko: Well, I can see everyone else's strings right there on their pinkies! Kazuzu's string, Toshi's string, Marscapone's string, even your string!

Takara: Well then, who does my string lead to?

Kumiko: Sorry, can't tell! That'd spoil all the fun!

Takara: Sure, that's why you can't say it.

Kumiko: But I can tell you that it's someone here in the resort! One of the guys here is your soulmate destined by fate!

Takara: Okay then, what about you? Do you know who your string leads to?

Kumiko: Of course I do! That's how I learned I could see 'em!

Takara: Well who is it?

Kumiko: My sweet and amazing Gummy Bear!

Takara: ......Gummy Bear?

Kumiko: Mmhm! He's super nice to me and made me feel better after I had to move away from Chi-Chi! We played games and had fun for hours and hours and hours! And he always cheered me up when I felt sad and lonely!

Takara: Why are you talking about him in the past tense?

Kumiko: ...It's been a long long time since I last saw him. He had to move away one day.

Takara: Oh, that's all.

Kumiko: But I know that one day, we'll find each other again! We promised each other so! Besides, the red string can't ever be broken no matter what! We're bound by destiny forever and ever, so it'll lead him back to me!

Takara: You...really believe that don't you?

Kumiko: Of course I do!

Takara: .....Then I know you'll find him again someday.

Kumiko: Well duh, it's obvious!

Takara: Yeah... You're right about that.

\------------------------------

Kumiko: Karins, look out! You got a huuuuuuge bug on your shirt!

Takara: I do? Where i- Gah!

Kumiko: Haha, gotcha! Can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book!

Takara: What'd you do that for?!

Kumiko: Cuz' I'm bored! Plus it's been a looooooong long time since I got to prank someone like that!

Takara: I'm both surprised and not surprised to hear that you prank people. But why wait until now?

Kumiko: Because we got Teddie watching our every movement! I dunno what he'd do to me if I tried to pull the usual stuff!

Takara: I don't think I want to know what you mean by "the usual stuff".

Kumiko: Well just so ya know, I _am_ a top class prankster! When I'm not making my super cool comics or gaming, I'm pulling pranks on people!

Takara: But why? What point is there to pranking them?

Kumiko: Huh? What's the point? I do it 'cuz it's fun!

Takara: That's...such a simple answer...

Kumiko: Besides, the stuff I do makes people laugh and that's always a bonus! It's better to have people laughing with you instead of at you, you know?

Takara: Oh...um, yeah. That is a lot better.

Kumiko: People can be so mean, ya know? But when you get them to smile and laugh, nothing matters but that!

Takara: ...Kumiko, forgive me for asking, but you didn't happen to be...bullied...as a kid, were you?

Kumiko: Ummmm, nope! Not really!

Takara: Huh? You weren't?

Kumiko: Nosiree! In fact, people usually avoided me!

Takara: ...Oh.

Kumiko: I only had two friends my whole life before this resort trip! Chi-Chi and Gummy Bear! They didn't care how I acted or what I did, they stuck by my side!

Takara: But, weren't you lonely?

Kumiko: Hmmmmm... Not really!

Takara: Seriously?!

Kumiko: Seriously! I didn't mind being alone that much, not when I had two amazing people like them! Though I did feel a little lonely when I couldn't see 'em thanks to moving around. But Chi-Chi and I kept touch through letters so it was all cool! Besides, no one really understood me so I was cool being all by myself!

Takara: I...see...

Kumiko: But hey, I figure people at Hope's Peak are weirdo types like me, so I can make all the friends I want to there! Like you!

Takara: Um...thank you?

Kumiko: Hehe, I like talking to you, Karins. You're super nice to me!

Takara: I like talking to you too, Kumiko.

Kumiko: I hope we can be friends forever and ever and ever!

Takara: ...Me too.


	61. Resort Mode V - Kazumi, Masaru, Satoshi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to get out, I've been dealing with a lot of things lately and have been unable to finish it until now. It's also pretty short because I didn't have any good ideas for either of the boys and I hate that. I tried my best though, and I'll come back when I get ideas like with the rest of these chapters. Enjoy the final Resort Mode chapter!
> 
> Also, be sure to read the other fics in the series! And keep your eyes open, there may be a sequel in the future...

Kazumi: Yo! Tsukuda!

Takara: Oh, Kazumi. You need something?

Kazumi: Do I gotta have a reason ta talk?

Takara: Well no, I guess not.

Kazumi: Exactly! Yer jus' cool as fuck ta hang with!

Takara: Actually, I have a question to ask you.

Kazumi: Eh? Well den spit it out!

Takara: I'm just curious, what exactly made you go into punk rock?

Kazumi: Uhhh, it's fuckin' awesome dat's why!

Takara: Wait, that's it? Just because it's awesome?

Kazumi: Don' get me wrong, I could sing anythin' I wanna, but none a dose other music types fit my style! I ain't gonna be no cutesy j-pop idol type like dat Maizono chick! I'd rather die!

Takara: What's so wrong about idols?

Kazumi: Nothin', I jus' don' wanna be one! Lemme get dis straight, I ain't cute. I ain't gonna try ta be cute, an' I don' wanna be cute. My lil' sis is cute, not me. I don' do cute an' dat's final.

Takara: Okay, okay, I get it. You're not into cuteness.

Kazumi: Eh, close enough.

Takara: So instead, you decided to be a punk rocker.

Kazumi: Fuck yeah I did! Punk rock is jus' my style! I'm rough an' tough as nails! I don' take shit from nobody! I ain't no girly person, I was born ta sing punk rock!

Takara: If you wanted to, would you sing j-pop?

Kazumi: Oh yeah, totally! My producer was actually tellin' me I shoulda gone wit' it 'cause I'd be more popular, but I didn' give two shits! Besides, I don' wanna be in TV or nothin', I jus' wanna sing an' get my family livin' better.

Takara: You don't seem like the type, but you really care about your family don't you?

Kazumi: W-well yeah! Ya gotta problem wit' dat?!

Takara: No, not at all! I think it's sweet! It shows you have a soft side under all those thorns!

Kazumi: Sh-shut da fuck up, Tsukuda!

\-----------------------------

Kazumi: What now, come ta laugh 'bout how soft I am?

Takara: No, no! I was just messing with you earlier! Honest!

Kazumi: Tsukuda, yer lucky I like ya. Otherwise dere'd be a trial comin' up.

Takara: Okay, let's talk about something else now! You and Shizuka sure are close, huh?

Kazumi: Hm? Me an' Matsuki? Yeah, I guess. Why're ya askin'?

Takara: It's just that you and her seem like the type of people who'd clash together.

Kazumi: Ueda an' Akamine are da same, ya know. It ain't like ya gotta hang out wit' people who're exactly like ya.

Takara: I know, but it still seems like a clash to me. Why'd you guys become such close friends?

Kazumi: I-I wouldn' say we're "close" or anythin', jus' dat we're friends. An' well, I dunno what 'er reasons were, but when we woke up she jus' kinda came ova' ta me. She weren't scared or nothin'. But I dunno what it is, but dere's somethin' 'bout 'er dat, fuck how do I say it, makes me wanna protect 'er.

Takara: Protect her?

Kazumi: Yeah, I guess. She's jus' kinda got dat "easy target" kinda vibe. Someone who can't fight their own fights. Someone vulnerable. Kinda like my lil' sis.

Takara: Ohhhh, so it's because she reminds you of your sister?

Kazumi: Nah, dat ain't it. Being around her jus'...calms me down.

Takara: Yeah, she does seem to keep you from hitting people.

Kazumi: I can't fuckin' explain it, she jus' seems ta make me feel more at ease, even in dis whole murderin' situation.

Takara: Well sometimes we feel certain ways for people and we can't figure out why. But at the end of the day, you're both good friends who help each other and that's what matters.

Kazumi: ...

Takara: Uhh...Kazumi?

Kazumi: Huh? Wha? Oh yeah, right, friendship an' all dat junk! ...Dat's it...

\-------------------------------

Masaru: Hey there, Takara! I got another recipe for you to try out!

Takara: Huh? Another one? Why not let someone else try it?

Masaru: Well, you just seem like a good judge for these kinds of things. You don't hold back your opinion and tend to be honest. I like that about you!

Takara: Uh, thanks for the compliment, but you should let someone else try out a dish. I bet Kazumi would love to try what you've concocted this time.

Masau: Yeah, but she'll just gobble it down without appreciating it! She wouldn't really be that much help.

Takara: Even so, I'm no food critic! You shouldn't rely on me to judge your pastries.

Masaru: But you're the best! I mean, at giving an honest opinion that is! No one else could do it properly!

Takara: Have you tried asking them?

Masaru: Well...no.

Takara: Then how do you know that I'm the best? You shouldn't rely on me to judge your work. I think it's good, but getting other opinions work best.

Masaru: ...I guess you're right. It's just that I feel like we're really good friends and all, so...

Takara: Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, but you can't rely on me alone.

Masaru: Sorry, Takara. I guess I got ahead of myself there. I'll go see if someone else can taste test for me.

Takara: Wait, make sure you save some for me, okay?

Masaru: ...Alright, you got it.

\----------------------------

Takara: You okay there, Satoshi? A glum appearance doesn't suit you very well.

Satoshi: Oh, Kara-chan! Yeah, I'm okay.

Takara: My bullshit detector says otherwise. Wanna talk about it?

Satoshi: The thing is, I've been thinking about my talent and how I want to change it. And the thing is, I think I'm starting to have second thoughts.

Takara: Second thoughts? But why?

Satoshi: I don't know! I've never liked being an archaeologist, I always missed school and had to deal with bad weather and stuff! But now, I'm starting to miss it all! The feeling of digging for treasure, the sun's rays beating down on me, being surrounded by my colleagues, I miss everything about it. But I don't know what to do! I'm so conflicted about what I want!

Takara: Isn't that normal though?

Satoshi: What do you mean, normal?

Takara: Sometimes we don't know what we want, or we think we know what we want but realize that it isn't how we truly feel. Life isn't always easy. It's full of ups and downs and isn't always clear. We just need time to figure these things out. It'll sort itself out eventually.

Satoshi: But I don't understand why I started feeling this way.

Takara: Well, maybe it's because you're being kept from archaeology.

Satoshi: Huh?

Takara: I mean, there's nothing here you can really dig through to find anything. You're out of your environment and it's starting to effect you. At least that's what I'm thinking.

Satoshi: When did you get all smart about these things, Kara-chan?

Takara: I just got good advice from others, that's all. I'm sure you'll figure things out again soon. Just give it time.

Satoshi: ...Okay... If you think that's all I need to do, then I trust you. I just hope this ends soon. It's giving me headaches.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Danganronpa: New Age of Despair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5984629) by [DarknessMaiden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarknessMaiden/pseuds/DarknessMaiden)




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